“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek on Wednesday marked his first year of survival since a devastating stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
In a video posted by the game show, Trebek noted that the one-year survival rate for those with his diagnosis is 18%. (See the full clip below.)
“I’m very happy to report that I have just reached that marker,” he said.
Trebek, 79, recalled moments of pain, “days when certain bodily functions no longer functioned” during rounds of chemotherapy, and “sudden massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it really was worth fighting on.”
But to give up, he said, would be a “massive betrayal” of his wife and soulmate Jean, and “a betrayal of other cancer patients who have looked to me as an inspiration and a cheerleader of sorts.”
Trebek relayed a moment in which his oncologist expressed certainty that the two could celebrate his second year of survival a year from now, defying the 7% probability.
“If we take it just one day at a time with a positive attitude, anything is possible,” Trebek said.
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