Alex Trebek’s supporters are many and, of course, the most supportive of all are all the members of his beautiful family. In the latest post from his daughter, Nicky, a heartwarming photo shows just how deeply he is loved as the “Jeopardy!” host, who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer, sits smiling in between Nicky, his oldest child, and Emily, his youngest. The hashtag? #girldad, naturally.
View this post on InstagramRead More Nicky, who is in her early 50s, was about 6 years old when Trebek married her mother, Elaine Callei, according to multiple reports. He adopted her and their relationship remained strong even after Callei and Trebek divorced seven years later. He later married Jean Currivan, with whom he has two children, Matthew, 29 and Emily, 27.Nicky often celebrates her dad on social media, such as with this adorable post:
Trebek, who is believed to still be back in treatment, recently spoke about the outpouring of love from all over."The response from people all over America and Canada with regard to my current health situation has humbled me, really," he said in an interview with a local Pittsburgh station WPXI.
"I had no idea that our show and myself had such an impact on the lives of so many people out there, making them feel good about themselves, entertaining them, not putting them down, having fun with them, and being able to encourage them to look outwardly in an optimistic and generous manner,” he said.
Trebek, according to the report, collects letters of support and advice inside a glass case displayed at the “Jeopardy!” studio.
He encouraged others with the same diagnosis who write him to think of it as a journey they're fighting together: "My response … has been the same for all of these people: let's both agree that we're going to become survivors."
Alex Trebek’s Cancer Journey
Trebek announced in March 2019 that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was initially treated with chemotherapy and had responded quite well announcing in May that some of his tumors had shrunk a significant amount, and the results were "mind-boggling." But in September, Trebek shared a reversal of those initial positive results.
In October he released a PSA covering the symptoms of pancreatic cancer, and it proved to be incredibly helpful in spreading awareness.
"We have had such a tremendous response to the PSA that continues to keep going," The World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition told SurvivorNet in a previous conversation. "[Trebek's] decision to become involved in the World Pancreatic Cancer Day global initiative is having a big impact on heightening awareness of the risks and symptoms of this terrible disease."
After Trebek's PSA, there was a significant increase in traffic to World Pancreatic Cancer Day, "where people can learn more about the disease, the symptoms and risks, how they can take action to raise awareness, as well as find local Coalition members who can provide many services and support for people living with and affected by pancreatic cancer," the Coalition said. When Trebek first announced his cancer, page views for pancreatic cancer increased from 2,000 views to 66,454 views.
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