The support for “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek continues as the three top “Jeopardy!” champions, gearing up for their prime-time face-off Tuesday night showed up on a morning talk show Monday wearing purple ribbons signifying pancreatic cancer.
Trebek announced he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer in March. His resilience and grace in the face of his health challenges has meant both an increase in the awareness about the disease, and a flood of support from fans, celebrities and more.
Read MoreTrebek: It’s Anyone’s Game
Trebek said the competition is anyone’s to take. He told GMA he had “no idea” who would win, and that “there are elements that favor each of the three guys. They didn’t win all that money by accident.”
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The winner will receive $1 million; the two runner-ups will receive $250,000 each.
Alex Trebek's Cancer Journey
The inspiring host, 79, who has been at the helm of the game show since 1984, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in March 2019. And true to form he shared his news publicly and with humor, to boot:
After initially being optimistic about his chemotherapy treatment, in September Trebek reported that he needed to undergo more because his "numbers went sky-high."
This summer, because I was making such good progress, we thought I was finished with chemo," Trebek said at the time. "That was a bit premature and certainly overoptimistic. I began immunotherapy, but that didn't go well. My numbers went south dramatically and quickly. The doctors are now re-examining my situation and, it appears, I will be having more chemo treatments ahead of me," he continued. "Hey, they worked very well the first time, so we're expecting good results again."
Now, Trebek said in a recent interview that he’s open to new therapies. "We may try a new protocol…a different chemo or something in the trial stage that is not chemotherapy," he said. "I don't mind experimenting. I've got nothing to lose, so let's go for it."
Trebek's advanced stage of pancreatic cancer has only a 3% five-year survival rate, which means that only 3 % of people diagnosed end up living five years. But with most stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients living only 3-6 months after finding their cancer, Trebek has been beating the odds.
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