Patrick Swayze on Cancer: 'I'm Going Through Hell'

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Jan. 6, 2009

Swayze said the illness has made him think more about the afterlife.

"I don't know what's on the other side," he said. "It tests everything I believe in … that here is something unique in all of us that does not, does not die."

Swayze said he talks to his father, who died before the actor became famous.

"I like to believe that I've got a lot of guardian warriors sitting on my shoulder, including my dad, saying, 'You just let Swayze dog know it's been his turn all this time. You just let us do the work and we'll finish it for him.' And so, I'm trying to shut up and let my angels speak to me and, and tell me what I'm supposed to do."

Photo: Patrick Swayze and Barbara Walters.

Ron Tom/ABC

Actor Patrick Swayze sat down for an interview -- and stood up for a dance -- with Barbara Walters. Swayze spoke openly about his yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer.

"What winning is to me is not giving up, is no matter what's thrown at me, I can take it," Swayze said. "And I can keep going."

For more information about pancreatic cancer, visit:

The Pancreatic Cancer Network