Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek hits cancer milestone, says battle has had ups and downs

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has reached a milestone in his battle against cancer.

He’s hit one year since his diagnosis — no easy feat.

“The one-year survival rate for stage four pancreatic cancer patients is 18 per cent,” he said in a video posted to Twitter. “I’m very happy to report I’ve just reached that marker.”

Trebek admitted his battle against cancer hasn’t been easy, and that some days are better than others.

“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.

But, Trebek added he wouldn’t give up because it would be a “massive betrayal” to everyone who is supporting him.

“You know, my oncologist tried to cheer me up the other day, he said ‘Alex even though the two-year survival rate is only seven per cent,’ he was certain that one year from now the two of us would be sitting in his office celebrating my second anniversary of survival,” he said. “And you know something? If I. No, if we — because so many of us are involved in this same situation — if we take it just one day at a time with a positive attitude, anything is possible.

“I’ll keep you posted.”

Trebek announced his cancer diagnosis in March of 2019. Since then, there’s been an outpouring of support for the Canadian-American who has hosted the popular trivia gameshow since the 1980s.

In January, Trebek said he didn’t anticipate retiring from Jeopardy! “in the near future.”

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