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Trebek reveals cancer diagnosis
Longtime host of the TV game show ‘Jeopardy!’ has been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
NEW YORK — Alex Trebek, the longtime host of the TV game show “Jeopardy,” announced Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
“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,” Trebek, 78, said in a video message recorded in front of the iconic set. “I also wanted to prevent you from reading or hearing some overblown or inaccurate reports regarding my health. So therefore, I wanted to be the one to pass along this information.”
Trebek, a native of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, has been host of the syndicated quiz show since 1984. He and his wife, Jean Currivan, have two children.
He’s among 50,000 other Americans who receive such a diagnosis each year, Trebek said. He has stage 4 cancer.
Normally, the “prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working.”
Trebek said he plans to beat the disease’s low survival rate with the love and support of family and friends and with prayers from viewers.
He lightened the difficult message with humor: He said he must beat the odds because his “Jeopardy!” contract requires he host the quiz show for three more years.
“So help me. Keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done,” he said, his voice calm and steady.
According to the American Cancer Society, the lifetime risk of pancreatic cancer for men is about 1 in 63. Stage 4 means the cancer “has spread to distant sites such as the liver, peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), lungs or bones.”
The five-year survival rate for similar diagnoses is 3 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.
Last year, Trebek went on medical leave from “Jeopardy!” after a fall that left him with blood clots in his brain.
In 2007, he was hospitalized for about a week after suffering what was described as a minor heart attack.
He’s won five Emmys as best game show host and received a lifetime achievement award from the TV academy in 2011.