AFTER finding it hard to eat and feeling so weak, Patrick Swayze is using marijuana as he battles aggressive pancreatic cancer, it has been claimed.

According to the National Enquirer, the Dirty Dancing star, 56, has found that smoking pot helps ease his nausea, insomnia and anxiety.

Gallery - Swayze and his Dirty Dancing days



"He’s recently gained a little weight and feels more normal than he has in months," a source told the tabloid.



"Patrick was rapidly losing weight because he couldn’t keep food down.



"He was so weak, he needed help getting around."



Friends persuaded Patrick to try marijuana, disclosed the insider, and it seems to have helped.



"Patrick and his brother Donnie get together almost every day and smoke a joint," the source added. "They have been seen smoking weed on the roof of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center while Patrick was getting a treatment."



"Marijuana works extremely well" for many cancer patients, said Dr. Ron Kennedy, a physician in Santa Rosa, Calif., who provides medicinal marijuana. “It helps fight nausea from chemotherapy treatments and may alleviate anorexia or lack of appetite."

Originally published as Swayze smokes dope to ease pain