'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek Announces He's Been Diagnosed With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer
LOS ANGELES (CBS13) - Longtime "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek says he's been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Trebek made the announcement in a video posted to the Jeopardy! Twitter account.
A Message from Alex Trebek: pic.twitter.com/LbxcIyeTCF
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) March 6, 2019
"Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer," Trebek says in the video.
"Now normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I'm going to fight this," Trebek continues.
Trebek, who is 78-years-old, says he's going to keep working - and even cracked a joke.
"Truth told, I have to [beat the disease] because under the terms of my contract I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years."
Jeopardy! has been hosted by Trebek since 1984.
Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the deadliest forms of the disease. According to numbers from the American Cancer Society, the one-year survival rate is 20 percent, while the five-year rate is just 7 percent - for all stages combined.