A medical expert says Hollywood actor Patrick Swayze’s long battle with pancreatic cancer defied the odds, as tributes rolled in for the star.
Dr Jeffrey Hardacre, a professor of surgery at Case Western Reserve University in the US, said Swayze surprised doctors by surviving with the illness since being diagnosed in January 2008.
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"If you were to look at statistics — the prognosis that is given to most patients with metastatic cancer is usually three to six months," he told
Fox News.
“It certainly has been described for people to live longer than a year — but this is outside of the norm.
"Most people with metastatic pancreatic cancer will not live longer than a year."
At the time of his diagnosis, Swayze was given only a one-percent chance of surviving longer than five years.
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California Governor and former Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger led the tributes to Swayze, describing him as a "talented and passionate artist who struck a memorable chord with audiences throughout the world."
"He played a wide range of characters both on stage and in movies and his celebrated performances made the hard work of acting look effortless — which I know from experience is not easy," Schwarzenegger said.
Swayze had bravely fought the disease in the public eye, continuing to work despite cancer treatment and significant weight loss.
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Demi Moore, Swayze's co-star in the hit film Ghost, posted a heartfelt message on Twitter after hearing the news of his death.
"Patrick you are loved by so many and your light will forever shine in all of our lives," the tweet read.
"And in the words of Sam to Molly. 'It's amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you.' I love and will miss you Patrick," another tweet from Moore said.
In January, Swayze slammed tabloid reporting of his illness in an interview with ABC television's Barbara Walters, where he bullishly declared that he was determined to beat his condition.
He told Walters he had tried to keep his illness secret but went public to protect family and friends after tabloids reported he was close to death.
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"Hope is a very, very fragile thing in anyone's life and the people I love do not need to have that hope robbed from them when it's unjustified and it's untrue," Swayze said.
In May, Swayze's spokesperson condemned "reckless" reports that the star had died, saying he was alive and well and responding to treatment.
A lanky Texan with a dancer's easy grace, Swayze — the son of a dance teacher and an engineering drafter — had a string of hit films in the 1980s and 1990s. He was named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine in 1991.
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As a young man, he moved to New York City in 1972 for more formal dance training at the prestigious Harkness Ballet and Joffrey ballet schools.
He scored a small-screen success in the 1985 television miniseries North and South, which was set in the American Civil War.
After years of roles on television and the silver screen Swayze shot to superstardom in 1987 with his film Dirty Dancing, an international blockbuster in which he played a dancing teacher to a young wallflower who starts to bloom.
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In Ghost, Swayze starred opposite Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in a film that won Goldberg an Oscar. In 1995, he took a turn in drag in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
Swayze soldiered on, working through much of his illness, and spending time with wife Lisa Niemi, a dancer and actress.
While 2004's Dirty Dancing 2, in which he had a small role, was not a hit, he just recently acted for five months in a television series "The Beast," in which he played an FBI agent.
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