“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek gave an update on his health one year after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
The longtime game show host’s message was posted Wednesday morning on the “Jeopardy!” Twitter account. The 79-year-old said the one-year survival rate for stage 4 pancreatic cancer is 18%.
“I’m very happy to report I have just reached that marker,” Trebek said.
Trebek added that his year battling cancer had been difficult.
“I’d be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one,” Trebek said in the video, adding there were days of great pain. “There were some good days, but a lot of not-so-good days.”
Trebek also said he wrestled with bouts of depression during the past year, “that made me wonder if it was really worth fighting on.”
“But I brushed that aside quickly, because that would have been a massive betrayal,” Trebek said. “A betrayal of my wife and soulmate ... who has given her all to help me survive.”
Trebek added that giving up would have been a betrayal of cancer patients who look to him for inspiration, a betrayal of his fans, and a betrayal of his faith in God. He said his oncologist told him that there was only a 7% rate of a patient becoming a two-year survivor.
“If I -- no -- if we, because so many of us are involved in this same situation, if we take it just one day at a time, with a positive attitude, anything is possible.”