Patrick Swayze 'renewed wedding vows after cancer diagnosis'

The late Patrick Swayze and his wife renewed their wedding vows after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, it has been revealed.

The Dirty Dancing star held an intimate ceremony with partner Lisa Niemi in July 2008, just months after being told that his illness was terminal.

Niemi, who was married to Swayze from 1975 until his death in September 2009, recalled that her husband stunned guests at the event on their New Mexico ranch by arriving atop his white stallion.

"That afternoon Patrick said, 'I think I want to ride in on Roh'," she wrote in her new memoir Worth Fighting For. "'Really?' I balked, thinking of all the problems a strong stallion not ridden that often could cause. But I smiled.

"Patrick and our blinding-white stallion fairly floated around the pool to the 'Ooohs' and 'Aaahs' of our guests. Patrick dismounted and held out his hand. I turned to our guests and grinned, 'After 33 years, he finally rides up on a white horse!' They laughed. My heart was bursting with happiness."

Niemi has admitted that she still sends text messages to Swayze's phone.

"I just put what I always did - 'I love you'. And then I cried for a little bit to myself," she said. "[The message] didn't come back. So either somewhere out there he received it, or someone's going, 'Somebody loves me!' And you know what? I figured it was a win-win situation."

Swayze's mother Patsy opened up about the actor's death for the first time in August, saying that her son "was so brave" throughout his cancer battle.

"He was convinced he was going to live through it and never lost hope," she said. "He never wanted sympathy, he just kept going. Even when he was so sick he could hardly walk, you wouldn't know it. He never wanted to be a burden."