Celebrity couples

Patrick Swayze’s wife says she still feels him 'every day'


Lisa Niemi Swayze has become an advocate for pancreatic cancer


Patrick Swayze’s wife says she still feels him 'every day'© WireImage
Maria LoretoSenior Writer
APRIL 18, 2026 8:50 AM EDT

Patrick Swayze’s wife Lisa is opening up about her beloved husband's death. Swayze died 15 years ago after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, a moment that changed Lisa's life and defined much of her activism. In a new interview, Lisa revealed she stays connected to Swayze every day. 

Patrick Swayze died in 2009, after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis© Corbis via Getty Images
Patrick Swayze died in 2009, after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis

In an interview with US Weekly, Lisa shared some of her everyday experiences when remembering her late husband. "One of the things about losing someone is every day, almost, I’m on this farm with these beautiful horses and I go, 'Oh gosh, I wish I could see this right now. I wish I could see the sunset. If only he were here. I could share this with him,'" she said. 

"But I talk to him, I feel him. I hear his voice in my head. He gives me advice, and I am absolutely certain that he is there whenever I need him. And I still have pictures all around of Patrick." 

Lisa went back to the moment when she learned of her husband's diagnosis, making it clear that it's an experience that people can't be prepared for. 

Patrick Swayze and wife Lisa Niemi© GettyImages
He was married to Lisa Niemi for 34 years

"Actually, when Patrick first found out, when the doctor left the room, he turned to me and said, 'I’m a dead man.' Because he knew something about pancreatic cancer from some of his buddies. I didn’t know as much as he did, but he knew that it was almost a death sentence," she said. 

"It’s just like you get thrown into a world and start learning about a lot of things you never wanted to know about. And you do your best. With Patrick and myself, we just kind of took each other’s hands, and it was like, 'We’re going to fight this with everything we have.'"

Swayze's decision to continue to work following his diagnosis

Sandy Gallin's Christmas Party, 1988© GettyImages
Lisa revealed that she remembers and talks to him everyday

When Swayze was diagnosed, he received five months to live. He survived the disease for 22 months, with Lisa sharing that Swayze continued to work on weekdays while he got chemotherapy and treatment over the weekends. 

"It was just extraordinary. He was an extremely strong individual. And during that time, he did pretty well with this treatment. With this cancer, it’ll respond well, and then after a while, it goes, wait a second, I know what’s going on, and it stops. So then you have to change your treatment," she said.

Swayze was working on the 2009 series "The Beast," marking his last performance. 

Patrick Swayze’s wife says she still feels him 'every day'© WireImage
Lisa Niemi has become an advocate for pancreatic cancer