Interview on the TODAY Show

Journalist 1: We are back now with a Hollywood star, race car driver and philanthropist. is there anything Patrick Dempsey can’t do?

Journalist 2: I think not. He burst onto the scene in the 80s. Oh Can’t Buy Me Love then went on to play Dr. McDreamy in Grey’s Anatomy but Patrick’s favourite role? Founder of the Dempsey Center. It’s a free care centre offering counselling, integrative therapies and support for cancer patients and their families as well.

Journalist 3: And Patrick is here to tell us more about this cause this morning.

Journalist 1: Good morning!

Patrick: Good morning and thank you for having me on.

Journalist 1: Absolutely!

Journalist 3: I just…I love what the Center does so let’s just go back: your mom, Amanda, she passed away 10 years ago.

Patrick: Correct.

Journalist 3: She had a long battle with ovarian cancer.

Patrick: That’s correct. Seventeen years, over 12 reoccurrences with ovarian cancer. It was a long journey, really tough. The reoccurrences are brutal. As we all know when you get that, you’re like, you think you’re out of the woods and you’re not. So the wraparound care really was inspired by her journey of like “What could I do? What could…?” You know, we do a lot to treat the disease but we don’t treat the human being, we don’t heal the person so that’s what was the inspiration behind the Center. A lot of acupuncture is very helpful for treatment and also getting the counselling is very good and now we’re reaching 32 states and 4 countries virtually. And this was something that was accelerated through COVID because a lot of people couldn’t travel and also because of Maine rural community it’s very tough for people to get to treatment, sometimes they can’t afford the fuel or they can’t get there, and now we can reach them and certainly in the winter months.

Journalist 3: And their families too.

Patrick: Family, yeah. We also take care of the caregivers which is something people forget about. We have a good children’s program, nutrition, all of it, from prevention through into survivorship.

Journalist 4: You’re a paid spokesperson for the American Cancer Society and Pfizer’s “Change The Odds” initiative. How does your mission at the Dempsey Center, how does it overlap with their missions?

Patrick: It’s screening right? The numbers are staggering: one in three women in their lifetime will get a diagnosis, one in two men. So if we can get out in front of this, if we can get our screenings done, there’s a great chance of surviving that and that’s what we’re part…You know, we’re trying to handle so many different aspects of cancer care: prevention through survivorship, and that’s our connection.

Journalist 4: And you’re practicing what you preach.

Patrick: I did! I had my test this week and I’ve got my colon test coming up next.

Journalist 4: Colonoscopy next week!

Patrick: Yeah so my colonoscopy, looking forward to that!

Journalist 4: Good times!

Journalist 2: We just had Andrea Bocelli sing Moon River.

Patrick laughs.

Journalist 1 (to her colleague): You’re such a stinker! While we…

Patrick: My prostate was this week and my numbers were good and I highly recommend doing it.

Journalist 1: No, absolutely! We talk about it lot on the show, we kid but we do talk about it.

Journalist 2: We’ve all been impacted by cancer. Look, my screening is what detected my prostate cancer and saved my life.

Patrick and journalist 1 talk at the same time.

Journalist 1: Right, so… / Patrick: And it’s…

Patrick: Go ahead.

Journalist 1: Go ahead.

Patrick: No, no, no, you talk. (smiles)

Journalist 1: Well, so we have a little fun here on the show, you’re here, before we run out of time, listen you’re like voted People‘s Sexiest Man Alive and People would probably still give it to you if could continue to give titles away, but here’s the thing: you use your platform for good and I mean that sincerely. So if there’s somebody coming up after you, you know some people kind of shy away from it but I do think in some ways it’s a platform.

Patrick: It’s a tremendous platform. You can’t really take it too seriously, I mean it’s so subjective anyway.

Journalist 2 (joking): I think you can.

Patrick: It was so funny. Then you look at Can’t Buy Me Love, I was the nerdy guy now you suddenly get from geek to chic, which was the line right or whatever. And I think fame in itself is quite empty unless you do something positive with it and I think to be of service is the most fulfilling thing there is. And that, to me, is what I love and the interaction and being able to use that platform to really help people is what you should be doing.

Journalist 3: But do your friends and family ever get sick of everybody saying just how like you’re the sexiest man alive?

Patrick: Oh no they make fun of me so…

Everybody laughs.

Patrick: So they keep me grounded and there’s always one… I love the lines like “Well I was overlooked this year, it should have been me”. You can’t take it seriously. And thank God for photoshopping!

Journalist 2: I like it. Craig just said that this morning. (Everybody laughs) So it’s Halloween, we hear that Neve Campbell signed up for Scream 7…

Patrick: That’s correct.

Journalist 2: So, in that universe you guys are married…

Patrick: Correct.

Journalist 2: Could you be back fighting Ghostface?

Patrick: Well, you know, I’m waiting on the script. There has been a conversation about it, I haven’t seen anything yet so we’ll see what happens but…Neve was actually on the show which is odd enough, she played my sister on Grey’s Anatomy and then we worked together, oh my God almost 26-27 years ago. I think it was 1999-98 something like that.

Journalist 2: So you’re open to it?

Patrick: Yeah, I mean you know, it’s always good to have a job.

Everybody laughs.

Journalist 1: And say yes to that.

Journalist 3: Speaking of people that you used to work with, you’re teaming up with Christian Slater.

Patrick: Yeah, so Christian Slater and I, when I first got to the city, I think it was in 83-84, he was 15 at the time…(reacting to the photo of them on the screen) Look at that! So we did Mobsters together and now here we are some 30 years later and we’re having such a great time. We laughed at how we were at that age. The whole culture on Dexter: Original Sin has been a wonderful journey, great group of people, we’re having so much fun and the crew, the cast and the scripts are fantastic.

Journalist 1: So lucky that you have each other, you know what I mean?

Patrick: It really is. You know to have survived this business and to have had the ups and the downs, I think we all really appreciate that we’re still here and that we’re working and there’s so many people after the strike, there’s not a lot going on so to be able to work and to have the platform to do something positive I’m truly grateful.

Journalist 2: That’s terrific.

Journalist 3: Patrick, we love when you’re here.

Patrick: I love being here.

Journalist 3: Thank you so much for coming back.

Patrick: Thank you so much.

Journalist 3: For more information on the Dempsey Center just go to today.com.