Rumors of Swayze death denied

May 20, 2009 01:15:33 PM

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A spokesperson for Patrick Swayze on Tuesday condemned "reckless" reports that the cancer-stricken star had died, saying the actor was alive and well and responding to treatment.

The Internet was abuzz with rumors earlier Tuesday that "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost Star" Swayze -- who has been fighting a brave battle against pancreatic cancer since being diagnosed last year -- had passed away.

Swayze's page on online encyclopedia Wikipedia was updated to indicate the 56-year-old had died, before swiftly being changed as doubts about the accuracy of the reports emerged.

"This is to confirm that Patrick Swayze did not pass away this morning contrary to severely reckless reports stemming from a radio station in Jacksonville, Florida," Swayze's publicist Annett Wolf said in a statement.

"Patrick Swayze is alive, well and is enjoying his life and he continues to respond to treatment."

Swayze's health has been the subject of intense speculation in the tabloid media, and the actor angrily condemned reporting of his illness earlier this year in an interview with ABC television's Barbara Walters.

Swayze said he had tried to keep his illness secret but went public to protect family and friends after tabloids reported he was close to death.

"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.

Swayze was diagnosed with advanced stage four pancreatic cancer in January 2008, leaving him with only a one percent chance of surviving longer than five years, according to figures from the American Cancer Society.