SWAYZE: 'LATE FATHER IS MY GUARDIAN ANGEL'

The Dirty Dancing star announced he was battling pancreatic cancer at the beginning of last year (08) and has since undergone treatment for the illness.

And he is sure his father, who passed away in 1982 after suffering a heart attack, is helping his fight against the disease.

In an interview due to be aired on U.S. TV on Wednesday (07Jan09), Swayze tells host Barbara Walters, "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. What winning is to me is not giving up, is no matter what's thrown at me, I can take it. And I can keep going."

His fight against the deadly disease has also triggered a fascination with the afterlife for Swayze.

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