Patrick Swayze’s First TV Interview Since Being Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer

Patrick Swayze and his wife Lisa Niemi give an exclusive interview to Barbara Walters tonight, his first television interview since being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year.  During the interview Swayze spoke candidly about his prognosis after living for a year with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Swayze, 56, said that in the year since his diagnosis, he had defied the statistics and “trash magazines” that predicted he should have “already been dead a long time,” but he acknowledged that time may be running out:

“I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,” he told Walters. “Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics. I want to last until they find a cure, which means I’d better get a fire under it.”

Swayze admits he’s scared, but says he’s waging his battle against cancer “moment to moment.”

“When do you decide the fight isn’t matching up to your quality of life?” he asked. “So far, I’ve got potential for a lot of quality of life.”

He also says he refused painkillers while working on his new A&E drama The Beast.

People thought he was “out of his mind,” he says. But “when you’re shooting you can’t do drugs… ‘cos it takes the edge off your brain.”

Swayze says he missed only a day-and-a-half of filming of the show, which premieres next week.

And as for his smoking habit, he says he has “cut back” but says quitting for him is not a “priority.”

To see VIDEO and to read more from his interview CLICK HERE.

Watch Barbara Walters’ exclusive interview with Patrick Swayze Tonight, Wednesday Jan. 7, at 10 p.m. ET.