Swayze working hard on new TV series

CHICAGO, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Hollywood actor Patrick Swayze, who has been battling pancreatic cancer for the better part of a year, has been working 12-hour days on his new series "Beast."

"I just love to work hard," the 56-year-old actor told the New York Times about the long days he has been putting in on A&E's freshman FBI drama.

"How do you nurture a positive attitude when all the statistics say you're a dead man? You go to work."

The star of "The Outsiders," "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" is cognizant of the fact that what he is doing is extraordinary, especially since experts say pancreatic cancer has only a 5 percent five-year survival rate, the Times said.

"I do find myself, at the end of the day, riding home sort of catching myself with a smile on my face," he told the newspaper. "I'm proud of what I'm doing."

The Times said Swayze has missed only a day and half since the soon-to-air series started shooting last summer.

"I'm still fine to work, I haven't changed -- oh, I have changed, what am I saying?" he admitted. "It's a battle zone I go through. Chemo, no matter how you cut it, is hell on wheels."

Although nothing is certain, production executives are already talking about a second season of the show with Swayze returning in the lead role, the newspaper said.