Alex Trebek Gives Health Update Announcing He Doesn't Plan To Retire In The 'Near Future'

Jan 15, 2020 by apost team

The coolest Canadian on American television recently reached out to his many fans to let them know that he's still standing and not quite ready to call it quits. The longtime host of "Jeopardy!" is not in the best shape of his life, but he is more than willing to go the distance because he knows that this is what fans of the show expect from him.

George Alexander Trebek, better known as Alex to millions of "Jeopardy!" fans around the world, was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in March 2019; he took the news in stride and opted to undergo immunology treatment, which did not work out as planned. He then switched to chemotherapy, which was not a pleasant experience, but put his life out of jeopardy for the time being. When he returned to work for production of "Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time," he took time to remind his fans that he will continue to be there for them.

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Trebek has never shied away from sharing details about his personal life. He waited a couple of months to go public with his cancer diagnosis because he wanted to get some reassurance from doctors about his condition; in other words, he wanted to know if the time had come for him to say goodbye. It was close, but by March 2019 he jokingly stated that his contract with the American Broadcasting Corporation was still valid for another three years. It was at that time that he decided that continuing to host "Jeopardy!" would be part of his battle against cancer.

Let's keep in mind that Trebek is 79 years old and has already gone through a couple of heart attacks. He once chased a burglar who had broken into his hotel room while on vacation in California; that incident resulted in a strained Achilles tendon, and he had to wear a cast for nearly two months, but he kept on working. Even with his current pancreatic cancer condition and a very difficult series of chemotherapy sessions, Trebek insists on hosting and producing "Jeopardy!" because he loves it. At home, he still takes on small construction and improvement projects.

Trebek has already lost his hair because of chemotherapy, and he knows that it will not grow back at his age. He has confessed that he was initially adamant of wearing a wig, but watching a screen test convinced him that this was the better aesthetic option. Side effects from therapy include lesions and sores around his mouth, which are covered up with make-up. He admits that he sometimes does not feel good while taping a show, but the production crew and the studio audience help him get through it all.

Something else that Trebek has confessed is that his health condition has impacted his mental and emotional state; this is very common in a cancer patient because cellular mutation can affect the central nervous system. He may go into periods of depression or snap at his loved ones and associates. He is a modest man, but his wife of nearly three decades admits that Trebek has changed because of the illness. We watch "Jeopardy!" and do not see someone who is dying of cancer, but this is something that has been in Trebek's mind for a while.

Luckily, Trebek was able to relieve his fans recently by saying he doesn't "foresee that 30-second moment (a 30-second farewell to Jeopardy! fans in a final episode) coming up in the near future," according to CBS News.

If anything, Trebek's attitude towards cancer should serve as a lesson to all of us. Cancer is more common than we sometimes think, and not everyone is able to handle things as gracefully as Trebek has. 

Pass this on to your friends and family or to anyone who you know has been diagnosed, and be sure to talk about Trebek and his positive take on what could be his finals days.