Alex Trebek: I Have 'Surges of Deep, Deep Sadness'

'Jeopardy!' host talks about his cancer diagnosis
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 1, 2019 11:15 AM CDT

Alex Trebek gave his first live interview since revealing earlier this year that he has pancreatic cancer, and the Jeopardy! host was honest about his struggles. "My oncologist tells me I'm doing well even though I don't always feel it," he said on Good Morning America Wednesday, but he has "surges ... of deep, deep sadness, and it brings tears to my eyes." He added that chemotherapy leaves him feeling "so weak all the time," but "you have to deal with it. What am I gonna do? It's something I am afflicted with, we are dealing with it chemically and spiritually, and those are positives. Hopefully everything is going to turn out well and I'll be back on the air with original programming this September."

Trebek, 78, who has hosted the game show for 35 years, was positive, too: "I'm fighting through it. My platelets are steady, my blood counts are steady, my weight is steady," and his cancer indicator numbers are starting to go down, he said. Plus, his fans from all across the nation have been helping him. "I've had so many contacts from people who have survived cancer for 10 years, 12 years, 14 years," he said. "I am now a 30-day cancer survivor. I'm going to catch up to those other people. But they have been an inspiration to me." He even got in a joke, saying, "I timed my diagnosis with the end of the season" and now he has the summer to recuperate before, hopefully, returning to his show. (Trebek previously explained why he's "a lucky guy.")

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