Swayze: I Catch 'Myself With a Smile on My Face'

Patrick Swayze is healthy, working, and excited by the future, the New York Times reports. The actor, who is responding well to treatment for pancreatic cancer, is shooting a cop drama for A&E, The Beast. “I do find myself, at the end of the day, riding home sort of catching myself with a smile on my face,” he said. “I’m proud of what I’m doing.”

Swayze shot the pilot for The Beast before he was diagnosed and fought hard to continue the role. “There was a lot of disbelief,” one producer said of Swayze’s involvement in the project. “I genuinely think people thought we were crazy.” Swayze has been cleared by his doctors to work—a big victory considering his disease has a 5% five-year survival rate. “There’s more I want to do. Lots more,” Swayze said. “Get on with it.” (More Patrick Swayze stories.)