Almost three months after announcing his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis, “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek has good news.
In an interview with People magazine, Trebek revealed he’s “near remission,” according to doctors.
Despite the cancer having a nine percent survival rate, Trebek seems to have been responding well to chemotherapy.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling,” the 78-year-old told People magazine. “The doctors said they hadn’t seen this kind of positive result in their memory … some of the tumors have already shrunk by more than 50 percent.”
Alex Trebek Reveals Some of His Tumors Have Shrunk by 50 Percent: ‘It’s Kind of Mind-Boggling’ https://t.co/VrYncDAZYJ
— People (@people) May 29, 2019
Trebek revealed that he became emotional when he learned the news and cried “happy tears.” He also thanked his millions of fans around the world, who he credits with his success so far.
“I’ve got a couple million people out there who have expressed their good thoughts, their positive energy directed towards me and their prayers,” he told People magazine. “I told the doctors, this has to be more than just the chemo, and they agreed it could very well be an important part of this.”
“I’ve got a lot of love out there headed in my direction and a lot of prayers, and I will never ever minimize the value of that,” he added.
Alex Trebek is beating the odds with his cancer treatment, per @people. https://t.co/xR6LSedyQz
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) May 29, 2019
Early in March this year, Trebek announced his cancer diagnosis in a video to the world, where he vowed to “fight this” and asked for support from friends, family and fans.
“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,” he said
A Message from Alex Trebek: pic.twitter.com/LbxcIyeTCF
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) March 6, 2019
Earlier this month, Trebek opened up about his struggles with chemotherapy on “Good Morning America.”
“My oncologist tells me I’m doing well even though I don’t always feel it,” he told “GMA’s” Robin Roberts. He added that while he’s used to dealing with pain, “what I’m not used to dealing with is these surges that come on suddenly of deep, deep sadness, and it brings tears to my eyes.”
FULL INTERVIEW: @Jeopardy‘s #AlexTrebek speaks out to @RobinRoberts after his pancreatic cancer diagnosis: “People all over America have been sharing their good thoughts, their advice, their prayers. And I feel it is making a difference in my well being.” https://t.co/ftmmqTXirE pic.twitter.com/tH1cdVQnsM
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 1, 2019
The “Jeopardy!” star said the treatments have been going well so far, but added it was important for him to be able to open up about the depression he is facing.
“The cancer indicators, those are coming down. I’ve got another chemo next week and we’ll do a review and see where things stand,” he said. “Chemo affects people in different ways and people have to understand that, and that there’s nothing wrong with saying ‘Hey, I’m really depressed today and I don’t know why.'”
.@Jeopardy host #AlexTrebek to @RobinRoberts after being asked how he is doing: “My oncologist says I’m doing well even though I don’t always feel it.” https://t.co/YUdvo8InwJ pic.twitter.com/T1toOLcmUm
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 1, 2019
Despite the toll of the treatments, Trebek made sure to take a moment to thank everyone for the outpouring of support he has received.
“People all over America have been sharing the good thoughts, their advice, their prayers, and I feel that it is making a difference in my well-being,” he said.
“I think I’ve learned that I’m an extremely lucky individual because, in spite of the fact that this diagnosis is not a good one, I’ve managed to receive so much love from so many people,” he said.
.@Jeopardy host #AlexTrebek to @RobinRoberts: “Hopefully everything is going to turn out well and I’ll be back on the air with original programming come this September.” https://t.co/YUdvo8InwJ pic.twitter.com/axBjyZzuz6
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 1, 2019
Trebek ended his message to fans with an optimistic outlook for the future. After hosting the show for 35 years, he said he has no plans to stop.
“Hopefully, everything is going to turn out well and I’ll be back on the air with original programming this September,” he said.