A smiling Farrah Fawcett gave the thumbs-up sign as she told reporters she's "doing great" after her cancer treatment.

The actress had lunch in Beverly Hills with Ryan O'Neal, who angrily denied claims in the American press that his former lover had given up her struggle to beat intestinal cancer.

Holding up a tabloid magazine article claiming "Ailing Farrah wants to die", O'Neal, 65, said it was "bulls**t".

He said Fawcett, his partner for 17 years - they have a son, Redmond, 21 - had been buoyed by support from wellwishers around the world.

"She was stunned by the positive feedback, the feelings that have manifested themselves," he added.

"She had no idea that anyone still remembered her like that." Fawcett, 59, was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and began six weeks of chemotherapy in October.

She shot to fame when she appeared in Charlie's Angels in 1976 and when she posed for Playboy, in 1995, it was the bestselling issue of the Nineties, with 4million copies snapped up worldwide.

Fawcett's publicist, Mike Pingel, added: "Her spirits are high, she's feeling good. Her plans are to recover and take the time to heal, and she is also looking forward to the Christmas holiday with her family."