Source: Eric McCandless / Getty
In March of 2019, famous Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek revealed his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. The nation was devastated to hear the news, but the legend remained hopeful, telling fans he was going to fight for his life.
“Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” he announced in a viral video clip at the time. “Now, normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m gonna fight this and I’m gonna keep working. And, with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”
Trebek went on to tell us all to have a little faith and now, one year later, he’s got an update for everyone. The survival rate for stage 4 pancreatic cancer is only 18%, but he beat the odds!
ALSO: Alex Trebek Dropping Bars On Jeopardy! Will Make Your Day
While he’s happy to be alive, Trebek says the journey has been extremely difficult. “Now I’d be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one. There were some good days, but a lot of not-so-good days. I joked with friends that the cancer won’t kill me, the chemo treatments will. There were moments of great pain, days when certain bodily functions no longer functioned, and sudden, massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it really was worth fighting on,” he said in a video released this morning, March 4.
“But I brushed that aside quickly because that would’ve been a massive betrayal. A betrayal of my wife and soulmate, Jean, who has given her all to help me survive. It would’ve been a betrayal of other cancer patients who have looked to me as an inspiration… and it would certainly have been a betrayal of my faith in God and the millions of prayers that have been said on my behalf,” Trebek added, ending his message with “If we take it just one day at a time, with a positive attitude, anything is possible. I’ll keep you posted.”
See his full message below:
Here at Global Grind we are cheering on Alex Trebek during this painful and strenuous fight and praying that he gets better. In the meantime, help us celebrate his GOAT status by watching this GMA clip below, a not-so-subtle reminder that Trebek is one of the best to ever do this game show hosting isht.
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