Tuesday, 29 July 2008

Patrick Swayze returns to work

Actor starts filming new role in defiance of illness

Patrick Swayze announced he had pancreatic cancer in March

Nobody puts Patrick Swayze in a corner!

The 55-year-old Dirty Dancing star looked fit and healthy Monday as he filmed The Beast, his first acting job since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year.

The self-proclaimed "miracle" – who announced he had pancreatic cancer in March and began chemotherapy – looked tanned and smiling on the set of the A&E TV series. (Episodes of the show – in which Swayze plays and FBI agent – are scheduled to begin airing next year.)

"Patrick is an amazing person," his costar Larry Gilliard Jr. recently told PEOPLE. "He's so positive. I'm really looking forward to getting back to work with him."