It's hard to tell what actor Patrick Swayze has been going through over the past year since he was diagnosed with cancer, but in his own words, fighting the disease has put him "through hell."

In his first televised interview since his pancreatic cancer diagnosis last year, the 56-year-old actor, who always came across as a tough guy, admitted he got scared and despite his positive attitude, he is still in a great deal of pain.

"You can bet that I'm going through hell," a tired and gaunt-looking Swayze told Barbara Walters in an interview set to air Wednesday on ABC, "And I've only seen the beginning of it."

However, he insisted that he's not ready to give up on his health: "Am I dying? Am I giving up? Am I on my death bed? Am I saying goodbye to people? No way."

There are no good sides of the experience, but Swayze chose to maintain an active lifestyle, and keep on working in spite of his disease. And what's most humbling is that the "Dirty Dancing" star only missed a day of work on the set of A&E's police drama "The Beast," where he gave off "good" energy like nothing was wrong with him, co-star Travis Fimmel said. Moreover, Swayze even rejected painkillers that would have taken the edge off his performance on the show, which premieres next week.

While most patients with advanced stage pancreatic cancer die within six months of diagnosis, the actor is still battling the disease for nearly a year. However, he is well aware that his time may be short.

"I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking. Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics," the actor said, adding that he would like to last at least until they find a cure. 

Recalling how he first realized something was wrong in late 2007, the actor said he was celebrating New Year's Eve with his wife, Lisa Nemi, and tried to have some champagne but drinking it felt like "pouring acid on an open wound."

He found himself staring in the mirror, 20 pounds lighter, "and then when you pull your eyes down and the bottom of your eyes go yellow and jaundice sets in – then you know something's wrong," he added.

Doctors found that Swayze had a malignant tumor in his midsection and a tiny mass on his liver. After a series of procedures over several days, doctors discovered that the actor had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Faced with his diagnosis, Swayze's immediate response was: "Watch me! You watch what I pull off," because "What winning is to me is not giving up - no matter what's thrown at me, I can take it."

Because his cancer had spread to his liver, having surgery to remove it was not an option. So Swayze underwent traditional chemotherapy along with the experimental drug Vatalanib.

The first rumors of his disease started in early February last year and by March, the actor confirmed that he had a "very limited amount of disease" and was "responding well to treatment."

The actor credited his wife of 33 years, Lisa Niemi, with helping him through his illness. "I have no greater respect for any other human being on this earth like I have for her. Part of me says I couldn't have made it through without her but, of course, the other part of me says I could have, but not nearly as elegantly as I have."