“Cancer is mysterious in more ways than one.”
This is what “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek said after he revealed that he will have to undergo more chemotherapy treatments after his “numbers shot up.”
During an interview with Good Morning America, Trebek said he was doing so well after his first rounds of treatments ended:
“I was doing so well, and my numbers went down to the equivalent of a normal human being who doesn’t have pancreatic cancer, so we were all very optimistic. And they said, good, we’re going to stop chemo, we’ll start you on immunotherapy. I lost about 12 pounds in a week, and my numbers went sky high. Much higher than they were when I was first diagnosed. So the doctors have decided that I have to undergo chemo again. And that’s what I’m doing.”
As Dearly previously reported, Trebek revealed in March that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
The 79-year-old vowed to fight the disease despite the odds being stacked against him:
“Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of your prayers, also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”
Now he’s gearing up for round two.
Alex Trebek reveals to @tjholmes he will need to undergo another round of chemotherapy as he begins the new season of @Jeopardy. “Cancer is mysterious in more ways than one.” https://t.co/7UgSClQdI5 pic.twitter.com/B0kxEM0Eg2
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 17, 2019
Over the summer, Trebek had a goal of getting his strength back and growing his hair back after he thought he was down with chemo for good. However, in his interview with Good Morning America, Trebek admitted that progress on both of those feats have been “dismal”:
“My hair started to grow back, but now I have to undergo chemo again. So what little hair I have grown, is going to disappear again. In terms of getting my strength back, that hasn’t happened unfortunately.”
The host went on to say that chemotherapy has had different effects on him.
He elaborated:
“For some reason, and I don’t understand it, why occasionally it will cause excruciating pain in my lower back, other times it’s fatigue, other times it’s nausea. It varies. Cancer is mysterious in more ways than one.”
However, Trebek says he is remaining optimistic despite the setback, sayingHey, I’m still here. And I don’t feel terrible.”
He also said that the one thing he doesn’t want to be said at his funeral when he does pass on is that he was “taken too soon”:
“I’m 79 years old. I had one hell of a good life and I enjoyed it. And the thought of passing on doesn’t frighten me. It doesn’t. Other things do, the effect it will have on my loved ones, yes, that bothers me. It makes me sad. But the thought of myself moving on, hey folks, it comes with the territory.”
The 79-year-old says as he continues to fight this battle, he’s going to continue to enjoy life as it is right now. And as long as he can accurately run the game, he will continue to be the host of “Jeopardy!” for as long as he can be.