Patrick Swayze: Cancer Is Hell On Wheels

Patrick Swayze admits having cancer has been "hell on wheels." The "Dirty Dancing" actor - who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the beginning of this year - insists the chemotherapy treatment he has been receiving is the most grueling experience of his life.

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

Swayze, 56, first became worried about his health last December when he had persistent indigestion and was feeling ill on a regular basis.

He explained to the New York Times newspaper: "After that all of a sudden real symptoms started showing up. You see it in the mirror and you go, 'OK better go get checked out.'"

While the veteran actor, who has been undergoing pioneering Cyberknife radiotherapy at California's Stamford University Medical Center, is making a remarkable recovery from the illness, doctors cannot yet say he is completely free of the cancer.

Swayze is currently shooting TV drama "The Beast," and has gained around 20 lbs. on a diet comprised mainly of fruit and vegetables and muscle-building milkshakes.

When he was originally diagnosed with deadly disease, Swayze was reportedly given just weeks to live.