Mom's plight moved Dempsey

"Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey (inset) says his mother's battle with cancer prompted him to help others in a similar situation. Interviewed yesterday by George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week," the Maine native said he's teamed up with Breakaway From Cancer, a support initiative founded in 2005. "It's overwhelming because it's like, there's too many options sometimes. It's like, well, why should I believe the doctors? Shouldn't I get a second opinion? Shouldn't I find a specialist?" Dempsey said. "You feel very naive and childlike in a lot of ways." The actor said his mother has been cancer-free for nine years.

The Nicholas Cage film "Ghost Rider" remained the top movie in US and Canadian theaters over the weekend, holding off five new films to take in $19.7 million in ticket sales. The movie, which a week ago set a Presidents Day weekend record with sales of $44.4 million, beat back the Jim Carrey drama "The Number 23," which tallied $15.1 million.

Comedian Tommy Chong will help raise money to defend the self-proclaimed "Guru of Ganja," who is charged with growing hundreds of marijuana plants for a dispensary. Chong, who starred with Cheech Marin in stoner movie classics "Up in Smoke" and "Nice Dreams," will appear at a $125-per-person event for Ed Rosenthal. Rosenthal, 62, famed for his marijuana cultivation books and the "Ask Ed" column he wrote for High Times magazine, will host the event at his Piedmont , Calif., home next Sunday. "The party will celebrate how far we've come in legalizing medical marijuana as well as provide me with the money I need to fund my current trial that is defending all of our rights," said Rosenthal, who's scheduled to appear in federal court March 19. He estimates his trial and related expenses could cost more than $300,000. Federal prosecutors accused Rosenthal of growing marijuana, laundering money , and falsifying tax returns from October 2001 through February 2002. In a post to his Blog of Chong Saturday, Chong urged his readers to attend the benefit for Rosenthal and donate to his defense. "Ed is being dogged by the feds for his marijuana work with sick people," Chong wrote. "It is the feds who are sick."

FROM WIRE SERVICES