Despite Flurry of Twitters to Contrary, Patrick Swayze Lives
Patrick Swayze
Tweets of Patrick Swayze's death have been greatly exaggerated.
A false report that the Dirty Dancing star had lost his battle with cancer burned quickly through the Twitter-sphere early Tuesday, forcing his publicist to issue a statement confirming that he remains alive.
"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," the rep said in a statement to TVGuide.com. "Patrick Swayze is alive, well and is enjoying his life and he continues to respond to treatment."
The announcement set off another flurry of tweets, this time spreading the good news.
It was unclear whether any radio station actually reported that Swayze died, but the false report did appear on some blogs.
Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2008 and began undergoing chemotherapy. He had already been cast in his A&E show The Beast, but consulted with the producers, who decided he should remain with the show.
Despite his courage in the face of the disease, he told Barbara Walters in an interview this year he was "going through hell."
"I've never been one to run from a challenge," he said.