Fans Reel at Alex Trebek's Cancer Revelation
by EG
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek revealed on Wednesday that he's been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. The news came as a shock to fans of the venerable game show, but Trebek gave them the news in his usual classy style. Read on for details.
Via Page Six.
“Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“Hi everyone, I have some news to share with all of you and it’s in keeping with my longtime policy of being open and transparent with our ‘Jeopardy’ fan base — Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” Trebek, who’s been hosting the game show for 34 years, said in a video message released Wednesday.
The 78-year-old continued, “Now, normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working and with the love and support from my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease. Truth told, I have to because under the terms of my contract, I have to host ‘Jeopardy’ for three more years, so help me. keep the faith and we will win. we will get it done. Thank you.”
He recently renewed his contact to host the show through the 2021-22 season.
According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for those with pancreatic cancer is 9%, and in the early stages often the disease does not manifest in any signs or symptoms, so “by the time they do cause symptoms, they have often already spread outside the pancreas.”
The news comes just as the show finished airing its All-Star tournament with former contestants including Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.
Get the rest of the story at Page Six.
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