Longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek is beating his cancer odds, and he took to social media Wednesday morning to tell his fans about it.
“The one-year survival rate for stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients is 18%,” Trebek said. “I’m very happy to report I have just reached that marker.”
Trebek announced to the world on March 6, 2019, that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Through treatment, he’s continued hosting the game show — including the “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament that saw Ken Jennings take home the top prize.
“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,” Trebek says in the post, which was released on the game show’s official social media accounts. “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 it on.”
But Trebek said the negativity would dissipate when he thought of his family, friends and fans.
“That would have been a massive betrayal — a betrayal of my wife and soulmate, Jean, who has given her all to help me survive,” he said. “It would have been a betrayal of other cancer patients who have looked to me as an inspiration and a cheerleader of sorts, of the value of living and hope. 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.”
The two-year survival rate for stage 4 pancreatic cancer is 7%, but, Trebek said, his oncologist is “certain” he will be celebrating a two-year milestone in 2021.
“If we take it just one day at a time, with a positive attitude, anything is possible,” Trebek said. “I’ll keep you posted.”