Defamer
The news of Patrick Swayze's cancer woes have drawn support from virtually every corner of the Web. Few have organized the type of outreach conjured by the family of Connie Loughman, however, whose press release hit Defamer HQ this morning with the curious subject line: "CURE POSSIBLE FOR PATRICK SWAYZE & INDIANA FAN SUFFERING FROM PANCREATIC CANCER":
An Indiana family is hoping for an Easter miracle - in the form of obtaining access to a revolutionary new treatment that holds the potential to cure both Hollywood legend, Patrick Swayze, and their beloved mother and wife from the ravages of pancreatic cancer - one of the most deadly forms of cancer.
On Monday, March 24, 2008 the Loughman family of Indianapolis, IN, will hold a news conference at which they will launch a public relations campaign asking the public to help them secure access of the revolutionary new treatment for pancreatic cancer, TNFerade, for patients including their mother/wife - Connie; Mr. Swayze; and others suffering from the disease. ... As part of their public campaign, the Loughman family has launched the website: CureConnieAndPatrick.comCureConnieAndPatrick.com invokes Swayze's likeness and backstory in its campaign to get pharmaceutical developer GenVec Inc. to "set up a compassionate use/expanded access program that would allow people with pancreatic cancer to obtain access to this life-saving treatment." Trouble is, Swayze's camp never authorized his use in the Loughman family's efforts. "We emailed Mr. Swayze's publicist, Annett Wolf, last week to give her a heads-up about our effort but have not heard back from her yet," wrote Connie Loughman's daughter Jackie in a note to Defamer. Whoops. Either way, we wish them both the best with their efforts to raise awareness for and ultimately defeat this dreaded disease.
Comments
Cure for cancer? We need a cure for aging if that photo is anything to go by.
Patrick f'ing Swayze... has it been that long?
Well meaning but curiously strange.
There's no such thing as a "cure" for any disease. Treatment, yes, but cure? That's language used by snake oil salesmen, I'm afraid.
I hate to see Patrick Swayze's name used in a snake oil scam. I don't see any good coming from this.
@NotReadyForPrimeTime: I think that's what was injected in Priscilla Presley's face: Patrick Swayze's Roadhouse Saloon Sanke Oil. It's good fer what ails ya'.
Snake Oil. Dammit.
ALL reputable drug manufacturers have compassionate use programs that are open to certain people who've been diagnosed as terminal. They use the results as research to get approval for widespread use. That alone makes me think this is 100% bullshit, the implication that no such program exists for this drug.
I once got a fundraising letter for a woman who wanted "a revolutionary treatment" for Hodgkin's Disease, a form of cancer from which I, myself was suffering at the time. It's THE most curable form of internal cancer, so I emailed and asked why she needed $15,000 for this revolution. She said it was because THIS treatment didn't make your hair fall out. I wasn't up for donating to save someone's hair, particularly as I live in a country where cancer treatment is free.
@SteamyMcFirecrotch:
I still love you.
Did anyone actually go to the website and watch the video? Quite heart touching. I don't think it's a scam. The daughters are doing everything and anything they can to get their mom the experimental drug (including using Patrick's name). The company won't give her the drug as they don't have a compassionate use program for it. They are not asking for any money.
I assure you - TNFerade is not snake oil. I'm the person who launched the website and if you go to there you will see the article from CBS news in Denver discussing the treatment. Or you can go to GenVec's website and read results from the trial for yourself. And to address the point about a compassionate use program - that is why we started this whole thing in the first place, to pressure GenVec into starting just such a program.
Jackie Loughman
@JackieL: I have no knowledge about the drug, and if it's experimental, I'm sure that's true for the medical community at large. It's the use of the word "cure" with regard to a treatment that is wince-worthy. Not to mention use of PS's name and notoriety without his consent.
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