Is he or is he not ill? While sources make contradictory reports and we’re all left to wonder whether legendary Hollywood actor Paul Newman is indeed battling lung cancer at 82 or in fact “doing nicely,” as he has stated, let’s just wish him good health and many years to come.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that A. E. Hotchner, a writer who has long been a friend of Paul Newman’s as well as business associate since the 1980s, revealed that the actor had long ago shared with him his health problems – about a year and a half ago.

Hotchner said Newman, 82, had “a form of cancer” and that he was “dealing” with it. He specified that the actor had undergone surgery a few years ago, “somewhere in the area of the lung.”

Later that very same day, Hotchner told “Access Hollywood” that he was not aware of Newman receiving treatment for any illness. He told Reuters however that the Hollywood veteran had “made it known to a lot of his friends” that he was ill with cancer.

Hotchner co-founded Newman’s Own food products with the actor in 1980 and is also a neighbor to Newman and wife Joanne Woodward, in Westport, Connecticut.

The AP tried to contact Hotchner again late Wednesday but did not succeed. “We stand by our story,” the AP said in a statement.

Last year, Newman announced that, at 82, acting was just not the same and that he would retire. He said it was “pretty much a closed book” for him, as ageing meant “you start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention.”

He was still set to direct “Of Mice and Men,” a stage play of the John Steinbeck novella. Earlier this year, Newman cited unspecified health issues as he announced he would withdraw from the project.

The star’s career spans a remarkable five decades, has starred in movies such as “Hud,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Verdict” and many others.

In recent years, he has starred in “Road to Perdition” opposite Tom Hanks, appeared in the HBO miniseries “Empire Falls” and lent his voice to an animated race car in the Disney/Pixar hit “Cars.”

He has also been involved in charity, raising more than $200 million from his Newman's Own brand of dressings, pasta sauces, popcorn and salsa.

He and Woodward celebrated 50 years of marriage this year. They are parents to three adult daughters. The only comment Newman has made on the recent spate of rumors concerning his illness is that he is “doing nicely.”

So let’s wish him just that: to continue to do nicely from now on.