The new of Alex Trebek's announcement that he's dealing with stage 4 pancreatic cancer hit home for Franke Previte, who raises money to fight the disease in the name of his friend and "Dirty Dancing" costar Patrick Swayze, who succumbed to the disease in 2009. Previte co-wrote the movie's theme "I've Had The Time Of My Life," which won an Academy Award for "Best Original Song," a Golden Globe Award for "Best Original Song," and a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals."

Franke is a good friend of mine, so I reached out to him to get a statement from him. Here's what he said:

“For 25 years, I’ve been raising money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network in Patrick Swayze's memory through sales of the original demo recordings of my Academy Award winning “Dirty Dancing” hit, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” And to hear after all this time about the extent of Alex Trebek’s plight with this horrendous disease just reinforces how much of an uphill battle we still have ahead of us. I continue to believe, with all my heart, that we are in this fight together, and that if everyone can simply donate $1 to this cause, we will finally have a true shot at conquering this devious disease, which continues to sneak up on its victims without being noticed until it’s generally too late. Pancreatic Cancer should no longer have to be the death sentence nearly to the extent that it remains. My heart goes out to Alex Trebek, his fans, friends and family. Let’s continue to strive and conquer this together.”

Previte, who is now co-producing "Calling All Divas" with world renowned live show specialist Michael LaFleur, continues to raise money to fight this silent killer.

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