Novak diagnosed with cancer

Los Angeles - Hollywood veteran actress Kim Novak has been diagnosed with breast cancer, but doctors say her prospects for recovery are good, her manager said on Wednesday.

"It's true, but we have a very good prognosis. It should turn out just fine," manager Sue Cameron told AFP, after industry daily the Hollywood Reporter broke the news on Tuesday.

The 77-year-old actress, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic Vertigo with Jimmy Stewart, maintains her health by working out three times a week and horse-riding, Sue Cameron said.

The cancer "was caught early by a routine yearly mammogram and (she) is undergoing treatment", Cameron told the Hollywood Reporter. "All her doctors say she is in fantastic physical shape and should recover very well."

Novak, who lives with her husband raising llamas in Oregon, made a rare appearance in Hollywood in July to launch a DVD collection of her work, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The sultry actress with the cropped blonde hair, high cheekbones and smokey voice starred opposite several of Hollywood's biggest icons, including William Holden, Frank Sinatra and Kirk Douglas.