Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi, whose marriage began in their 20s and lasted for 34 years, led one of Hollywood’s storied love affairs – but the Dirty Dancing actor’s widow reveals that there were times when their union teetered to the brink of breakup.

Six years ago, Niemi tells Oprah Winfrey in her first interview since Swayze’s death, her husband descended into a period of heavy drinking and “very dark thoughts. “He was imploding pretty badly,” she said during Friday’s show, so much so that in 2003, Niemi left Swayze for a year. “I didn’t think he was going to live through it and I didn’t want to watch that.”

But the couple reconciled and regained their happiness – only to be tested again when Swayze was diagnosed 22 months ago with pancreatic cancer and was told he had three months to live.

“It was mind numbing,” Niemi says. When faced with the devastating information, “You think you’re going to get these terrific illuminations,” she says, but that didn’t happen. “I looked around and I said, ‘This is awful.’ ”

Niemi says she cried in front of her husband only once, and saved the rest of her tears for her close girlfriends. “I wanted him to know he was going to be okay,” she tells Winfrey.

Final Days
Niemi, 53, and Swayze never talked about him dying. “We were too positive,” she says. Swayze wanted to believe in God and Heaven but also had doubts. “He had this very realistic side,” says Niemi. “He said, ‘I can’t be 100 percent sure, but I’m going to find out.’ ”

In his final days, Swayze was on pain medication and only minimally aware of his wife’s presence. Niemi tells Winfrey she had seen death before, witnessing animals that the couple kept at the end of their lives. “I felt them leave their bodies and it’s always been a light and free feeling because they were out of pain,” she said. “I was wondering if I would feel the same thing with Patrick. And I didn’t.”

With Niemi at his side, Swayze, 57, died Sept. 14 at his ranch near Los Angeles. “I didn’t feel him leave when he actually stopped breathing,” she said. Now, she says, “I feel him here. I feel like he hasn’t left. I can feel every contour of his hand in mine.”

Niemi says that when Swayze starred in the hit movie Ghost, she thought she would never want to see the kind of visions that Demi Moore’s character saw of her dead husband, played by Swayze, but that has changed. “Now I’m like, ‘Please show yourself. I would love to see you.’ ”

Of the lessons she’s learned since his death, she says, “It’s the proverbial, ‘Do it now,’” she said. “You end up living a lot more in the moment.”

These days, she’s “hanging in there,” she says. “If I was really courageous, I would be open to the possibility that I could go on in life,” she said. Swayze always believed in her, telling her how smart, beautiful and good she was. “I hope I can continue to prove that he was right about me.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Patrick Swayze’s tell-all memoir will hit stores just two weeks after he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

The late Dirty Dancing and Ghost star died on Monday in Los Angeles at the age of 57.

He revealed plans to write about his life story with his wife Lisa Niemi back in February, and fans will have the chance to read all about his cancer fight, his career and his love for Niemi in The Time of My Life on September 29th.

In the tome, Swayze reveals he thought his cancer diagnosis was “a cruel joke”.

He adds, “I couldn’t be dying – I had too much to live for!”

Swayze refused to take any drugs throughout his battle because he feared it would make him incapable of working on his new TV series The Beast.

He writes, “I never took any painkillers since they dull not only your pain but also your sharpness.”

He admits he was “determined to live until a cure is found”, but eventually came to terms with the fact that he was slowly losing his fight when he learned the tumour had spread to his liver: “I began thinking to myself, I’ve had more lifetimes than any 10 people put together, and it’s been an amazing ride.

“…So this (dying) is OK.”

The tragic actor’s body will reportedly be cremated on Friday (18Sep09) and his ashes spread across his beloved ranch in New Mexico.

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From TMZ:

Patrick Swayze died today after a long battle with cancer. He was 57.

Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2008. His publicist says he died with his family at his side.

He was the star of such movies as “Ghost,” “Dirty Dancing,” and “Road House.” Swayze was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1991.

Soooo sad!

Patrick Swayze, at 56 years old, is just a shadow of his former self these days, reportedly weighing in at an alarming 105 lbs. The actor’s fingers have gotten so thin, he’s even had to switch his wedding band over to his middle finger. On April 3, 2009, Swayze was wearing his two gold rings on his ring finger, and just four days later, on April 7, 2009, switched them to his middle finger, where they were more secure and he could be sure they wouldn’t slip off.

Fame

Cancer-stricken Patrick Swayze has been released from the hospital one week after checking himself in, his publicist said Friday.

Publicist Annett Wolf would not elaborate on the actor’s condition but told The Associated Press he “is well enough to have been released.” He is now resting at his L.A. home, Wolf said.

The star, who is battling pancreatic cancer, checked into the hospital with pneumonia on Jan. 9.

“He sounds really upbeat and positive,” his mother, Patsy Swayze, told Usmagazine.com on Monday.

In a recent ABC primetime special, Swayze, 56, denied that he was on his deathbed but said he may have only two years to live.”I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,” said The Beast actor, who revealed he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer last year. “Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics.

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Cancer-stricken actor Patrick Swayze, who was hospitalized Friday for pneumonia, is “doing fine,” his mother, Patsy Swayze, told Usmagazine.com on Monday. “He sounds really upbeat and positive. “We don’t talk about illness when I talk to him,” she said. “He hasn’t even been there a week!”

In an ABC primetime special last week, Swayze, 56, denied that he was on his deathbed but said he may have only two years to live. “I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,” said The Beast actor, who revealed he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer last year. “Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics. “I want to last until they find a cure, which means I’d better get a fire under it.”

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Hang in there Patrick!

Patrick Swayze has been hospitalized for pneumonia, the president of A&E announced at a panel Friday.

“Patrick has asked that I tell you that he has checked himself into the hospital this morning for observation after coming down with pneumonia,” said A&E president Abbe Raven at a press event for the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles. “As anyone who has had a friend or family member that has undergone treatment for cancer, chemotherapy can take a toll on you immune system. Patrick did want me to tell you that he is very sorry he couldn’t be at panel this morning, but he plans to get back to promoting The Beast as soon as he is back on his feet.”

In a ABC primetime special Wednesday, Swayze, 56, denied that he was on his deathbed but said he may have only two years to live.

“I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,” said the actor, whose A&E series The Beast premieres next week. “Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics.

“I want to last until they find a cure, which means I’d better get a fire under it.”

Last year, the actor revealed he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

“Yeah, I’m scared. Yeah, I’m angry. Yeah, I’m [asking] why me,” he said. “Yeah, I’m all this stuff.

“You can bet that I’m going through hell,” he said. “And I’ve only seen the beginning of it.”

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