By james art “This is what killed two of the strongest, most extraordinary physical specimens of men I have ever known in my life,” the actress tells PEOPLE
” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ps9s4_qGA_NbfR5uPSpNvQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_people_articles_471/4d82883e827bf365574c8aaf94bab2c4 ” class=”caas- img”/>
Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank; Bruce Glickas/FilmMagic
Melissa Gilbert doesn’t use the word hate often, but when it comes to cancer — especially pancreatic cancer — she has no problem saying she hates it because the disease has “taken so many people out of my life.”
Two of them were her Little House on the Prairie co-star Michael Landon and Gilbert’s longtime friend Patrick Swayze, who both died of pancreatic cancer.
“We read about it, we hear about it from a distance, but until it hits you close to home, which it did for me, I personally didn’t realize how brutal it can be,” she tells PEOPLE.
Pancreatic cancer ranks as the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US, according to the National Cancer Institute. It is rarely curable and has a five-year survival rate of less than 13%. Because there are so few symptoms in its early stages and there is no screening or test, the cancer is usually not detected until the more advanced stages, making it one of the deadliest types of cancer.
“It really is a brutal and devastating disease,” says Gilbert. “It’s like a tornado to me. You have no warning. It’s just there and the survival rate is almost zero.
Related: Melissa Gilbert reflects on Michael Landon’s influence 50 years later Little House on the Prairie: “He Set the Tone” (Exclusive)
” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6nfTPoMa16qx1ZO0RhPqsw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_people_articles_471/275ec6d583cb762f8801e2ffd931d269″ class=”caas- img”/>
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling stories that matter to people.
The Little House on the Prairie star, 60, recalled how difficult it was to watch her co-star Michael Landon – who played patriarch Charles Ingalls on the series – battle the disease before his death in 1991. Landon was a dear friend and father to Gilbert over the years, and she says it’s shocking to watch him deteriorate from the disease.
“I’ve seen Michael have meningitis, I’ve seen him with broken bones, I’ve seen him with many illnesses in the time we’ve been together. But it took him and destroyed him so quickly,” she says.
“This man was the epitome of physical well-being,” she continues. “I’ve always described him as an inverted triangle, so strong, in such great shape, so strong. And seeing it happen so quickly and so almost violently, I felt like an enemy I wanted to defeat.”
” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/CL33By_6dHQRSaGPEMk2og–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_people_articles_471/4edc30921dc56ddd189bf3630283e7bf” class=”caas- img”/>
Courtesy Everett Collection
Related: Patrick Swayze’s widow felt ‘like a nail was put in my own coffin’ after his cancer diagnosis (Exclusive)
Gilbert says it’s been just as difficult watching her longtime friend Patrick Swayze battle the disease. The Dirty dancing the actor died in 2009 at the age of 57 from pancreatic cancer.
“Literally nothing has brought this guy down, and this is going to do it?” Gilbert says. “He was able to fight a lot longer than Michael Landon. But still… You see them before and you see the pictures of them going through it and it’s devastating.”
“This is what killed two of the strongest, most extraordinarily extraordinary physical specimens of men I’ve ever known in my life,” she says of Landon and Swayze. “Athletic, talented, I mean, whatever. Those guys were pillars to me, almost like superheroes. And to see something like that take them the way it did… And it’s not just the person who goes through that. I watch an entire family suffer along with the two men as they suffer in a way that is unspeakable.”
” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/SvlWqSfLoivqp4kRFdfx_w–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_people_articles_471/7fedcd7de5daa95088eee573b7315788″ class=”caas- img”/>
The PEOPLE Puzzler Crossword is here! How fast can you solve it? Play now!
Now, through her lifestyle brand Modern Prairie, Gilbert is teaming up with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) to raise money and awareness for the charity, which funds research, provides patient/caregiver support, community service and advocates to increase of federal research funding for those affected by the disease.
In honor of November’s Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, the actress is launching a special capsule collection featuring women’s and children’s beanies, pocket squares, a signature pie bag, blanket and bag. The products – debuting on October 14 – all feature a purple striped and purple white canvas, which Gilbert created as a nod to the official color of pancreatic cancer awareness.
“My work with PanCAN is a passion of mine and it’s important to me because of the people I’ve lost—that I’ve known and loved—to pancreatic cancer,” says Gilbert, noting that all proceeds from the collection will support the charity.
” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/7kS.a4hyXIFPTJ_cmzXPWQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_people_articles_471/11ab0af760bf46051e77e0375d6c10bc” class=” caas-img”/>
Modern Prairie / Julie Zach
Related: Star Trek Actress Kitty Swink Had 4% Survival Rate After Pancreatic Cancer – 20 Years On (Exclusive)
“Whatever I can do to support the organization,” she adds. “The world can be scary when you think about all these things that are out there. So why don’t we all put our heads together, put our pockets together, put our hearts together and do everything we can to eradicate this scourge that is cancer, and especially pancreatic cancer.
When Gilbert and her business partner, Nicole Haase, co-founded Modern Prairie, they vowed that “as soon as we’re able, we should start giving back.” Emphasizing that they are first and foremost businesswomen, the actress says the growth of their brand since launching in 2022 has allowed them to do so now.
“It’s absolutely our duty to use that money for good,” says Gilbert.
“That was always going to be our goal,” she tells PEOPLE. “And I think our relationship with PanCan is just the first step in that direction. I think over time you’ll see us creating products and supporting other organizations and other charitable causes because that’s who we are.”
For more people news, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter!
Read the original People article.