Beloved Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek opened up on his challenging health battle with stage four pancreatic cancer, revealing on difficult days he feels like he ‘wants to die’.
The longtime game show host, who turns 80 on Wednesday, says he gets through those lows with the support of his wife of 30 years Jean, 56.
‘There was one day a few weeks ago when Jeanie asked me in the morning, “How do you feel?” And I said, “I feel like I wanna die.” It was that bad,’ Trebek said on Good Morning America on Monday.
Trebek choked on tears speaking of his ‘saint’ wife saying: ‘I apologize to her… It just has to do with the fact that I feel like I’m a terrible burden to her. And that bothers me tremendously.
‘She has so much goodness in her, she’s always giving out, putting out to help me get over difficult moments. I’m just in awe of the way she handles it.’
Despite his diagnosis, Trebek has continued to work and on Tuesday will release his memoir ‘The Answer Is …: Reflections on My Life’, giving fans a behind the scenes look at his 36-year Jeopardy! career.
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Beloved Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek opened up on his challenging battle with stage four pancreatic cancer, revealing on difficult days he feels like he wants to ‘die’ but gets through with the support of his wife of 30 years Jean Trebek
Trebek choked on tears speaking on his ‘saint’ wife on Good Morning America on Monday, saying: ‘She has so much goodness in her, she’s always giving out, putting out to help me get over difficult moments. I’m just in awe of the way she handles it’. They are pictured together in 2014
He said he’ll donate proceeds from the memoir to charity.
Trebek announced in March 2019 that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told he had less than an 18 percent chance of living another year.
On Tuesday Trebek will release his memoir ‘The Answer Is …: Reflections on My Life’, giving fans a behind the scenes look at his 36-year Jeopardy! career
Trebek is currently undergoing an experimental immunotherapy treatment and has seen positive results so far.
‘They do a blood test to see what my CA 19 numbers are. And the CA 19 numbers are an indicator of how your pancreatic cancer is progressing. Eight weeks ago, the numbers were at about 3,500. Now, they’re below 100. So I’m going in the right direction,’ he said.
‘The doctors have said they have never seen a chart like mine because there are peaks. I said, “What do you mean – you don’t – you haven’t – you don’t see that often? What do you usually see?” They usually see it going up. I’m a bit of an anomaly,’ he added.
This is the same treatment used by former Senator Harry Reid who was also diagnosed with stage four Pancreatic Cancer. He is now in remission.
If it doesn’t work Trebek says he’ll continue with chemotherapy and ‘see what happens’ but won’t go to ‘extraordinary measures’ to survive.
Trebek said he’s become good at ‘faking it’ when it comes to the pain and working. ‘I’m good at faking it. There have been tough moments. And I don’t know what it is, but when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. Let’s do it. Get out there, suck it up, make it happen,’ Trebek said
Trebek pictured in October 1990. Trebek got his big break when he landed the job of hosting game show Jeopardy! in 1984 after appearing in a series of smaller TV roles
Trebek has been filming introductions to old episodes of Jeopardy! from a studio in his Los Angeles home after production for the show halted back in March due to the pandemic. Pictured above in 2011
He says while it was tough to tell his family that, ‘they handled it beautifully’.
‘They understand that there is a certain element regarding quality of life. And if the quality of life is not there – it’s hard sometimes to push. And just say, “Well, I’m gonna keep going even though I’m miserable,” he said.
Till then, Trebek said he’s become good at ‘faking it’ when it comes to the pain and working. He says the pain keeps him up at night.
‘I’m good at faking it. There have been tough moments. And I don’t know what it is, but when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. Let’s do it. Get out there, suck it up, make it happen,’ Trebek said.
He says what gets him through the day is his passion for his job.
‘It’s something that I can’t explain intellectually. At a gut level, without even thinking about it, it just happens. I suddenly wake up and I’m able to perform and handle the show because I like it. It’s a good job,’ Trebek said.
Trebek has been filming introductions to old episodes of Jeopardy! from a studio in his Los Angeles home after production for the show halted back in March due to the pandemic.
Trebek pictured accepting the award for outstanding game show host for Jeopardy! at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards in May 2019
He’s been the host for 36 years and has no plans on leaving any time soon.
He’ll hit the milestone of two years of survivorship since diagnosis in six months.
‘My doctor has told me that he is counting on me celebrating two years of – survivorship past the diagnosis of stage four pancreatic cancer. And that two years happens in February,’ he said.
‘So I expect to be around ‘cause he said I will be around. And I expect to be hosting the show if I am around.’
Trebek is so hopeful that he says he keeps putting off getting his ‘affairs’ in order.
‘I’ve said to myself, “Hey, you – you better start getting your affairs in order.” And I know exactly what I need to do, but I have yet to do it,’ he said.
‘So there’s something in the back of my mind that says, “Woah, hold on a second, host, breathe. Maybe you’re gonna be around for a little while longer. And that would be so nice,’ he added.
In the book Trebek will touch on his upbringing as a wild child in Ontario, Canada where he almost got expelled from boarding school, picked fights with bullies and fell in a frozen river.
In 1984, Trebek got his big break when he landed the job of hosting game show Jeopardy! after a series of smaller TV roles.
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