Patrick Swayze Loses Cancer Battle At 57

Patrick Swayze has died at the age of 57. The "Dirty Dancing" actor passed away at his family home Monday with his beloved wife Lisa at his side after losing his highly-publicized battle with pancreatic cancer.

View Photos [6]
View Profile
View All News

His publicist Annett Wolf said: "Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months."

Patrick was diagnosed with cancer in January 2008 and initial reports claimed he had only weeks to live.

However, in January of this year he appeared on U.S. TV to insist his battle was far from over.

He told TV interviewer Barbara Walters: "I'm scared and going through hell. Am I dying? Am I giving up? Am I on my death bed? Am I saying goodbye to people? No way."

"I keep dreaming of a future, a future with a long and healthy life, not lived in the shadow of cancer but in the light."

Patrick will best be remembered for his role as dance instructor Johnny Castle in 1987 movie "Dirty Dancing," starring alongside Jennifer Grey.

He won the hearts of women around the world with his sexy moves on the dance floor as well as delivering the iconic movie line: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

He also co-wrote and performed the song "She's Like the Wind" for the movie's soundtrack, which was a worldwide hit.

In 1990, he starred opposite Demi Moore in the smash hit "Ghost," in which he played a murdered man trying to communicate with his fiancee through a medium played by Whoopi Goldberg.

The film cemented Patrick's place as one of Hollywood's biggest heartthrobs, but he seemed to struggle with the worldwide attention it brought him.

In 1994, he repeatedly lapsed into alcoholism as his father's death and sister's suicide took its toll.

In 1996, he broke both legs in a horse-riding stunt and in 2000 he made an emergency landing in the plane he was piloting and appeared to attempt to remove a crate of alcohol from the plane.

However, in recent years he made a comeback playing Nathan Detroit in the West End hit "Guys and Dolls" in 2006.

Before his tragic death, Patrick had been starring in U.S. TV show "The Beast" and he was also planning to write a memoir with his wife Lisa.