Alex Trebek: 'I'm still here' for 'Jeopardy!' season 36 after cancer battle

"Jeopardy!" is back, and so is its venerable host, Alex Trebek.

"Today, 'Jeopardy!' begins its 36th season on the air, and I'm happy to report I'm still here," announced the 79-year-old to open Monday's season premiere.

Trebek, who went public earlier this year about his fight with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, announced a couple of weeks ago that he's "on the mend."

Trebek told People magazine in May that some of his tumors had "shrunk by almost 50 percent" and that he was "near remission."

Calling the response to his illness "mind-boggling," he credited his fans for their "good thoughts, their positive energy directed towards me and their prayers."

Trebek added, "I've got a lot of love out there headed in my direction and a lot of prayer, and I will never, ever minimize the value of that."