Its not often that a late diagnosis of pancreatic cancer gives a victim a reasonable chance of survival but that certainly seems to be the case with Dirty Dancing star, Patrick Swayze.

Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in early 2008, many predicted he would not survive 12 months. With newspaper photographs showing him in April this year looking like a man about to knock on heaven’s door its great to see healthier than most  Hollywood celebs without the big ‘C’.

Sufferers of pancreatic cancer are often left with little or no hope of recovery and with 7,600 diagnoses each year - the prognosis is usually poor with only about 13 per cent surviving longer than a year after diagnosis, and only three per cent beyond five years.

So when the Ghost star was diagnosed earlier this year with pancreatic cancer many predicted he would not survive 12 months.

But now, with the latest photos of Swayze coming out of Hollywood it appears that his chances have great increased due to recent advances in radiotherapy-surgery and chemotherapy that give patients a better chance of surviving longer, and some even a hope of being cured.

Radiotherapy used has high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells. Although healthy cells can also be damaged, they usually repair themselves-Radiotherapy can cure some cancers and reduce the chance of a cancer coming back.
Swayze, 56, has reportedly been undergoing a new form of radiotherapy treatment called CyberKnife. It uses a robotic arm to deliver multiple beams to hard-to-reach tumours from various angles so they can be targeted more accurately. As a result, tumours that were considered inoperable or too complex for surgery can now be treated.

So we may yet see The Beast back in action!