Swayze still smoking despite cancer

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 15 (UPI) -- U.S. actor Patrick Swayze, recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, was spotted leaving a California hospital smoking a cigarette.

Swayze, 55, has been a heavy smoker for years, The Daily Telegraph reported. He has acknowledged smoking up to three packs a day.

Dr. Kat Arney, head of Cancer Research U.K., told the newspaper that as many as one-third of pancreatic cancer cases may be linked to smoking.

Swayze is best known for his starring role in the 1989 movie "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" in 1990. He had been cast as an aging FBI agent in an upcoming TV series, "The Beast."