Patrick Swayze 's widow Lisa Niemi Swayze has spoken about the late actor's death more than a decade ago and opened up about what life has been like without him.
The actor - remembered for his roles in beloved films like Dirty Dancing (1987) and Ghost (1990) - died in 2009, less than two years after he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Patrick - who was 57 at the time of his death - had shared that he had pancreatic cancer the year prior to his passing and he has helped raise awareness of the disease.
His widow Lisa, now 66 - whom he had married in 1975 - has spoken about her late husband in a new interview this week, in which she recalled the first signs that he was unwell.
Lisa - who has been raising awareness around the disease with the charity the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network - was interviewed for the Today Show earlier this week.
Discussing her late husband's symptoms, Lisa said he had asked if his eyes looked yellow and had "some digestive problems," with him said to have been experiencing pain.
She recalled: "It was mostly the yellow eyes that sent us to the doctor." Lisa added that Patrick was "immediately" sent for a CT scan after being assessed by a doctor.
Following further assessment, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and Lisa told the outlet that together the married couple "fought it for as long as his body could".
She also discussed life since Patrick's death in 2009, with her having describing it as a "difficult transition," especially as they had been together for more than three decades.
Lisa vowed to "continue the fight" for her late husband. She said: "I still care and I know how tough Patrick’s and my journey was with this.
"Cancer may have taken him, but it didn’t beat him. And I’m continuing his fight for him."
Lisa - who has remarried since her late husband's death - however told the outlet that she still feels Patrick's presence with her though, saying: "His voice is in my head.
"He comments on what I’m doing. When I need a bolstering up or something’s going on, I can ask him in my head, and I hear exactly what he’s saying, which is generally, 'Come on, girl, get real'."
Sharing her thoughts on losing a loved one, Lisa - who was a guest on the NBC show this week - said that when someone dies it "doesn't end your relationship with them".
She said: "Just because somebody’s gone doesn’t end your relationship with them. We spent 34 years together, and that’s always going to be a part of my life and who I am."
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