Patrick Swayze also died of pancreatic cancer and at the same age give or take a year.

Diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in January 2008, Swayze told Barbara Walters a year later that he was "kicking it".[2] However, he died from the disease on September 14, 2009
I think they both had the same spirit of "I'll beat this thing" even though they didn't. I believe that's the way it should be. Even if it ends up beating you go down fighting.