Fit and healthy

London, July 22: The Dirty Dancing star looked fit and healthy as he passed through LAX airport in Los Angeles, in contrast to pictures shortly after his diagnosis in which he looked gaunt and frail.

Asked about his health, a grinning Swayze, 55, gave a thumbs up and replied: “I’m a miracle, dude, I don’t know why.”

Swayze was en route to Chicago and the set of his latest television show, The Beast, in which he plays an undercover FBI agent. Despite the diagnosis, he has vowed to continue his work schedule.

The actor revealed in March that he had pancreatic cancer, amid reports that he had been given only weeks to live.

His doctors denied the rumours, saying Swayze had “a very limited amount of disease” and was responding well to treatment at Stanford University Medical Centre in California.

In addition to hospital treatment, the star is sticking to a healthy eating regime in a bid to keep the cancer at bay.

Last month he said: “My treatments are working and I am winning the battle. I am juicing every day along with other treatments and all I can say is that it’s working fine and really well.” Swayze and his wife, Lisa, said they were “thrilled and grateful for the positive response” he had shown to the treatment.

His sister-in-law, oncologist Dr Maria Scouros, said Swayze refused to be cowed by his illness. She told People magazine: “He has very strong willpower and he’s a very determined individual. He’s bringing all that energy to bear on it.”

Swayze’s shot to superstardom with his role as a dance instructor in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing alongside co-star Jennifer Grey. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role.