Remembering Hollywood icons taken too soon by pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, often detected only in its late stages. 

Here are some Hollywood stars who were diagnosed with it:

John Hurt

The English actor, famous for his iconic role in the Harry Potter movies, revealed in 2015 that he had early-stage pancreatic cancer.

“I am undergoing treatment and am more than optimistic about a satisfactory outcome,” John said at the time.

It is worth noting that even after the harrowing diagnosis, he continued to work but eventually died in January 2017, at the age of 77.

Sharon Jones

The American soul and funk singer, who garnered attention in 2002 for her album Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013.

The doctors removed part of her pancreas and all of her gallbladder in order to remove the cancer, but unfortunately it came back 9 months later.

Sharon died from the disease in November 2016, at age 60.

Alan Rickman

The actor, who gained widespread fame for his role as Severus Snape in all eight films of the Harry Potter series, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which spread to his liver and lungs.

Alan died of the disease at the age of 69 on January 14, 2016.

Charlotte Rae

The Diff'rent Strokes actress was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009 but was successfully treated and became cancer-free after chemotherapy.

Charlotte had a strong family history of the disease, with her mother, sister, and uncle all having died from it.

Later, in 2017, she was diagnosed with bone cancer but survived for several more years, eventually passing away at the age of 92 in 2018.

Patrick Swayze

The iconic actor from Dirty Dancing was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 20 months before dying of the disease in 2009, at 57 years of age.