Doctor: Patrick Swayze Responding Well to Cancer Treatment

Doctor: Patrick Swayze Responding Well to Cancer Treatment

The actor's physician is "optimistic" about his patient's condition; his rep says the Ghost star will keep working

The news of Patrick Swayze's pancreatic cancer diagnosis sent shock waves through the entertainment community, and panicked fans of the Ghost and Dirty Dancing star. But recent reports have indicated that his followers shouldn't give up hope, as his condition is not as grave as was previously believed.

"Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far," his physician Dr. George Fisher said in a statement of the 55-year-old actor. "All of the reports stating the time frame of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic."

As for his career, Swayze's rep said that his client plans to move forward professionally: "Patrick is continuing his normal schedule during this time, which includes working on upcoming projects." According to the National Cancer Institute, only five percent of patients with pancreatic cancer live more that five years after being diagnosed with the disease. We hope that Patrick is one of those survivors.