Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer

updated 9:03 a.m. ET March 6, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Patrick Swayze’s doctor is “optimistic” about his prognosis for battling pancreatic cancer, and the “Dirty Dancing” actor’s upcoming cable pilot is still in contention to become a series.

With the writer’s strike over, the A&E pilot “The Beast,” starring Swayze as an unorthodox FBI agent, is being considered to be turned into a series by the cable network. If that happens, the “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost” star hopes to continue to be part of the show, his representative Annett Wolf told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Swayze has been undergoing treatment for the disease, Wolf confirmed in a statement. The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 37,680 new cases of pancreatic cancer in 2008 with 34,290 deaths in the U.S.; only five percent of patients live more than five years after being diagnosed.

“Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far,” Swayze’s physician Dr. George Fisher said in a statement released by Wolf. “All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic.”

Wolf said Swayze, 55, shot “The Beast” pilot last December and isn’t currently working on any new projects. A&E issued a statement Wednesday stating “The Beast” was still in contention to become one of the network’s new original drama series and wished Swayze a speedy recovery.

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