Alex Trebek Reveals Battle With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer: 'I'm Going To Fight This'
March 6 2019, Updated 8:50 p.m. ET
Alex Trebek is fighting for his life. The Jeopardy! host has just revealed in a personal message to fans he is battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working,” Trebek, 78, said in the taped message.
Pancreatic cancer affects 50 thousand people in the United States each year, and has the highest mortality rate of the major cancers with 91 percent of patients dying within five years of a diagnosis.
“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 remarked, adding a lighthearted joke. “Truth told, I have to! Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years!”
The long-time game show host has suffered several medical emergencies over the last few years, and underwent brain surgery to address blood clots in December 2017. He returned just a month later. He also suffered a minor heart attack in 2012 and underwent surgery for a snapped Achilles tendon he suffered while chasing a woman who broke into his hotel room in San Francisco in 2011.
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