“Jeopardy!” Alex Trebek’s optimism in the face of his challenging disease has encouraged millions of people and helped them through their own cancer journeys. Occasionally, though, as Alex Trebek told the Canadian network CTV News‘ Lisa LaFlamme, he regrets having shared his diagnosis with the world.
“To be the inspiration for a lot of other people makes me feel good, but it does place some responsibility on me that I don’t feel deserving of,” Trebek said.
Trebek, 79, went on to say that he realizes that he has become, in many ways, the spokesperson for pancreatic cancer. When asked “what’s wrong with that?” his response was that he didn’t know if he deserved that responsibility.
Alex Trebek's Cancer Journey
“There are a lot of expectations,” he said. “And What I’ve discovered is that not only have I become the de facto flag carrier for it… a lot of people are coming to me and looking for help, reassurance, and that’s tough.”
Trebek’s Mixed Feelings on Publicizing His Cancer
Trebek shared an anecdote: “I was contacted recently by someone… a woman who has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and she’s taking it very badly,” he recounted. “She’s about 10 years younger than I am… and I tried to cheer her up as best I could, but it’s tough sometimes to be the most optimistic person when the other person feels none of that optimism. They simply feel only despair… and I don’t know if I’m strong enough or intelligent enough to help alleviate some fo that despair. So it’s tough on me sometimes. But hey, it is what it is and I do the best I can.”
Indeed, Alex Trebek has been going above and beyond to provide hope and optimism to all of the people that look to him for encouragement. He has not missed one day of his job hosting “Jeopardy!” — even after announcing that he had begun a second cycle of chemotherapy for his cancer, and that the side effects have been incredibly challenging for him.
In the CTV News interview, LaFlamme pointed out this non-stop positivity. “You’ve been really busy,” she said. But in response to the acknowledgment, Trebek, true to his humble nature, turned the attention away from himself.
“Yeah, but there are a lot of people out there who have cancers who continue to live their lives and go about their business and do all of that… and they do it without recognition,” Trebek said.
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