‘Jeopardy!’ Host Alex Trebek Diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer

On March 6, legendary game show host Alex Trebek announced on YouTube that he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Trebek stated in the video:

“Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with 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. And 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. 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’ll win. We’ll get it done. Thank you.”

Trebek has been the host of “Jeopardy!” since 1984 and is signed on thru the 2021-22 season.

Originally from Ontario, Canada, Trebek got his start in the media in 1961 announcing the news for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). He moved to the United States in 1973 and was host of the NBC game show “The Wizard of Odds”. He then went on to host other games on broadcast network television from the 70’s thru the early 90’s, including “High Rollers”, “Double Dare”, “Classic Concentration” and “To Tell the Truth.”

Trebek took a brief medical leave from “Jeopardy!” in late 2018 to have surgery for blood clots on his brain after taking a nasty fall. He also suffered mild heart attacks in 2007 and 2012.

According to TMZ, Sources connected to Trebek indicate he will immediately begin chemotherapy.

The video, in full:

After Trebek’s news broke, CBS New York’s Dr. Max Gomez relayed information about pancreatic cancer on-air: