Patrick Swayze Battles Cancer
Patrick Swayze has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but his doctor has rejected reports that the actor has only weeks to live.
"Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment so far," George Fisher, Swayze's personal physician, said in a statement issued yesterday.
"All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue."
The 55-year-old star of such hits as Ghost and Dirty Dancing was continuing his normal schedule, working on a series of projects, his publicist said.
The National Enquirer had reported that Swayze had lost a significant amount of weight and had been given only five weeks to live.
It is not unusual for those who contract cancer of the pancreas - a vital organ in the abdomen - to die quickly because the disease is not usually discovered until its later stages.
1-in-20 victims of Pancreatic cancer live for five years. Here's hoping that Swayze can beat the odds.
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