"Jeopardy" Host Alex Trebek Announced He Is Going Back On Chemotherapy For Pancreatic Cancer

Just weeks ago, the longtime Jeopardy host said he was nearing remission. "That was a bit premature and certainly over-optimistic," he said in a video message.

Alex Trebek announced on Tuesday that he will go back on chemotherapy to treat his stage 4 pancreatic cancer, just weeks after the longtime Jeopardy host said he was nearing remission.

"This past summer, because I was making such good progress, we thought I was finished with chemo," Trebek said in a video message. "That was a bit premature and certainly over-optimistic."

"I began immunotherapy but that didn't go very well at all. My numbers went south, drastically and quickly," he said.

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Trebek, who in late August told People that his cancer was "near remission," said that doctors are now reexamining his situation.

"It appears I will be having more chemo treatments ahead of me," he told fans.

The legendary game show host exuded an optimistic vibe, letting loyal viewers know that his treatments "worked very well the first time" and that doctors were "expecting good results again."

He then asked fans to keep him in their "thoughts and prayers."

"Believe me, it means a lot," Trebek said.

Trebek originally went public about his cancer diagnosis in March.

Pancreatic cancer is highly aggressive and typically has a low survival rate, according to the American Cancer Society.

"For all stages of pancreatic cancer combined, the one-year relative survival rate is 20%, and the five-year rate is 7%," according to Pancreatic.org. "These low survival rates are attributable to the fact that fewer than 20% of patients’ tumors are confined to the pancreas at the time of diagnosis; in most cases, the malignancy has already progressed to the point where surgical removal is impossible."

In May, Trebek opened up about the emotional distress having cancer has caused him, telling Robin Roberts of Good Morning America that the illness made him experience deep bouts of depression.

“I’ve had kidney stones, I’ve had ruptured discs, so I’m used to dealing with pain, but what I’m not used to dealing with is the surges that come on suddenly of deep, deep sadness — and it brings tears to my eyes," Trebek said at the time.

He said he spoke with Roberts because he wanted to be "open and transparent" with loyal followers while on this journey and so that fans weren't “reading or hearing some overblown or inaccurate reports regarding my health.”

Jeopardy, the show Trebek has hosted for 35 years, recently began its 36th season in early September.



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