PATRICK SWAYZE is rallying against reports he has ended his acting career due to his current battle with pancreatic cancer - insisting he didn't drop out of a new movie because of his illness.

The actor had reportedly withdrawn from the role of a gay cheerleading coach in Fired Up, while he undergoes chemotherapy treatment for the life-threatening disease.

But his representative has revealed he pulled out for "artistic" reasons - and also because he is waiting to discover if network A+E are to commission a TV pilot he has shot called The Beast, reports the New York Daily News.
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