Why are so many celebs dying of pancreatic cancer? From Patrick Swayze and Steve Jobs to Susan Saint James, what A-list spate of deaths reveal about the deadly disease that’s so often caught too late

Patrick Swayze, Steve Jobs, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Aretha Franklin and Luciano Pavarotti.

They were – and still are – among the most recognizable names in entertainment, business, politics and music. But they had something else in common: each of them died from pancreatic cancer.

And this week, Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress best known for starring in the hit TV series McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie, became the latest A-lister to lose their life to the disease.

Other famous names claimed by it include Harry Potter star Alan Rickman, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek and legendary fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.  

It is a remarkable roll call of celebrity deaths from a cancer that accounts for just three per cent of all diagnoses. 

So why does pancreatic cancer appear to have claimed so many beloved stars? Are celebrities somehow more susceptible – or is there another explanation?

The Daily Mail spoke to leading cancer experts to investigate the apparent trend – and uncovered several intriguing explanations for why pancreatic cancer appears to have claimed the lives of so many well-known names.

Their findings shed light on the unusual characteristics of the disease, the factors that put people at risk and why some of the world’s biggest stars have become its most prominent victims.

Part of what makes pancreatic cancer so dangerous is that it can develop unnoticed, often only being discovered when it has spread beyond the point where surgery can offer a cure.

It begins in the pancreas, an organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and hormones, including insulin.

In its early stages, there are often few obvious symptoms. When warning signs do appear, they can include bloating, back pain and fatigue – common complaints that are easily dismissed or mistaken for something less serious.

Other symptoms include unexplained weight loss, persistent abdominal pain and jaundice – a yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes. Anyone experiencing unexplained, persistent or worsening symptoms should seek medical advice, while jaundice requires urgent assessment.

Around 80 per cent of patients are diagnosed when their cancer is too advanced for potentially curative surgery. For those whose disease has spread to distant parts of the body, fewer than five per cent survive for five years. Overall, most patients die within a year of diagnosis. 

In the US, around 67,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, making it the tenth most common cancer. Yet it is responsible for almost one in ten cancer deaths. 

There is also an important distinction between some of the famous cases.

Steve Jobs and Aretha Franklin both had pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors – a much rarer form of cancer arising from hormone-producing cells in the pancreas.

These differ from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which accounts for the vast majority of cases and is generally much more aggressive. Neuroendocrine tumors can grow more slowly and have a better prognosis, although they too can prove fatal.

But does any of this explain why so many famous people appear to have died from pancreatic cancer?

One study, published in 2025, attempted to investigate the cancers most frequently reported among celebrities. Researchers examined news articles published between 2010 and 2020, identifying 254 reports involving 157 public figures who had been diagnosed with cancer.

Pancreatic cancer featured in one in 20 of these reports – lower than its eight per cent share of cancer deaths in the general population. Crucially, however, the study examined media coverage rather than actual cancer rates among celebrities.

The researchers also warned that the findings could have been skewed by repeated coverage of the same high-profile cases, with some celebrity diagnoses and deaths generating dozens of news reports. 

The results therefore provide no evidence that celebrities are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than anyone else.

But the researchers offered several explanations for why it might appear that way.

Dr David Benjamin, an oncologist at the Hoag Family Cancer Institute in California who led the research, believes the answer may lie in how quickly the disease progresses and its high death rate.

‘For prostate cancer, for example, which is the most common cancer in men, it can cause sexual problems and there is stigma around it. Men can be treated for the cancer without suffering visible problems and live for many years afterward, which means it can be kept private,’ he said.

‘But with pancreatic cancer, it advances so fast and the mortality rate is so high while symptoms in later stages may be obvious, that this may lead celebrities to be more forthcoming with their diagnosis.’

However, many famous people choose to keep their cancer diagnoses private.

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman’s bowel cancer only became public after his death in 2020, aged 43, while David Bowie’s liver cancer was similarly revealed after he died in 2016, aged 69.

Pancreatic cancer, however, can cause dramatic physical changes as it progresses, which may make concealing the illness more difficult.

‘One thing that becomes striking and difficult to hide is if you have unexplained weight loss, which can be caused by this cancer,’ said Dr Shanel Bhagwandin, director of a National Pancreas Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence in California.

‘The other concern is whether or not patients develop jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes or skin. That may also become difficult to hide from the public.’

Another explanation is that celebrities diagnosed with particularly serious illnesses may use their fame to raise awareness, generating further publicity.

‘Overall, some cancers – such as glioblastoma [an aggressive form of brain cancer] and pancreatic cancer – get more publicity just because they are rare, not well known, and have a very high mortality rate,’ said Dr Benjamin.

Dr Tracy Proverbs-Singh, a gastroenterologist at Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, agreed.

‘Celebrities are more likely to advocate for rare diseases to get people’s awareness and understanding, they try to at least provide some information for people and the world. So I think that may also contribute to this perception,’ she said.

Dirty Dancing and Point Break star Patrick Swayze appeared on the Stand Up To Cancer television fundraiser in 2008, a year before his death from pancreatic cancer at 57.

Canadian game show host Alex Trebek also spoke publicly about his illness after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in March 2019.

In a public awareness campaign, he revealed that he had initially overlooked one of the warning signs.

‘I wish I had known sooner that the persistent stomach pain I experienced prior to my diagnosis was a symptom of pancreatic cancer,’ he said.

He died in November 2020, aged 80.

But experts also pointed to a much simpler explanation for many of the deaths on the list: age.

Susan Saint James was 80 when she died, while Aretha Franklin was 76, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was 87 and Luciano Pavarotti was 71.

‘In pancreatic cancer, the biggest overall risk factor is age,’ said Dr Bhagwandin.

‘It is primarily a disease of aging as we see those older cells in our pancreas that have had more opportunity to obtain mutations turn cancerous.’

According to the American Cancer Society, most people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are over 65, with the average patient aged 70.

But age alone does not explain who develops the disease. Experts have identified several other factors that can increase the risk – including some that are within our control. 

Smoking is among the most significant, with smokers facing roughly twice the risk of pancreatic cancer compared with those who have never smoked. It is estimated to account for around a quarter of cases.

Heavy drinking has also been linked to an increased risk, partly because it can cause chronic pancreatitis – long-term inflammation of the pancreas that can itself increase the likelihood of cancer.

Other risk factors include obesity and type 2 diabetes, while having a family history of pancreatic cancer or certain inherited genetic mutations can also increase the likelihood of developing it.

Quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption and maintaining a healthy weight may therefore help reduce the risk, although pancreatic cancer can also strike people with none of these factors.

Could celebrities be more exposed to some of these risks?

Dr Proverbs-Singh suggested that the demands of fame, including frequent parties and social events, might mean some celebrities smoke or drink more heavily.

‘Two of the risk factors that are a little more modifiable – alcohol and smoking – you maybe do see more in populations that are a little more out there, or socializing more, such as celebrities,’ she said.

However, there is no clear evidence that celebrities as a group smoke or drink more than the general population, or that their lifestyles put them at greater risk of pancreatic cancer.

Meanwhile, the disease is becoming more common across the US.

Over the past decade, the annual incidence rate has risen by around 20 per cent, from 11.4 to 13.6 cases per 100,000 people.

‘This is a disease that isn’t only among celebrities. It’s in the general population and it is rising,’ said Dr Bhagwandin.

‘We don’t necessarily have a clear understanding for why that is. But, at the moment, we may continue to see more cases in the future.’

For now, experts say there is little reason to believe fame itself makes someone more susceptible to pancreatic cancer.

Instead, its poor survival rates, the publicity surrounding high-profile deaths and the willingness of some celebrities to speak openly about their diagnoses may have created the impression that the disease disproportionately affects them.