3:22
- culture
- July 20, 2020
'Jeopardy!' host on battle with cancer, new book
"There have been tough moments," said the host.
Video by Chris Cirillo
3:22
Currently, the 79-year-old is undergoing an experimental immunotherapy treatment, which is the same treatment that was used by former Senator Harry Reid, who was also diagnosed with stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer.
Reid’s cancer is now in remission, and Trebek is seeing some positive results so far too.
“They do a blood test to see what my CA 19 numbers are,” Trebek explained. “And the CA 19 numbers are an indicator of how your pancreatic cancer is progressing. Eight weeks ago, the numbers were at about 3,500. Now, they’re below 100. So I’m going in the right direction. The doctors have said they have never seen a chart like mine because there are peaks. I said, ‘What do you mean -- you don’t -- you haven’t -- you don’t see that often? What do you usually see?’ They usually see it going up. I’m a bit of an anomaly.”
WATCH: Our favorite Alex Trebek moments from 'Jeopardy!'
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Although the treatment seems to be working, Trebek said that if it doesn’t, he’s “not going to go to any extraordinary measures to ensure my survival.”
When he had to explain it to his family, the game show host said it was “tough,” but “they handled it beautifully.”
“They understand that there is a certain element regarding quality of life,” said Trebek. “And if the quality of life is not there -- it’s hard sometimes to push. And just say, ‘Well, I’m gonna keep going even though I’m miserable.”
With Trebek’s memoir out this week, and the positive effects of his experimental treatment, it’s given Trebek something to look forward to and a will to survive, which he admits might be keeping him from “getting his affairs in order.”
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/Trebek-abc-ml-200720_1595246694798_hpEmbed_16x9_384.jpg\")
“I’ve said to myself, ‘Hey, you -- you better start getting your affairs in order,’” he shared. “And I know exactly what I need to do, but I have yet to do it.\"
\"So there’s something in the back of my mind that says, ‘Woah, hold on a second, host, breathe. Maybe you’re gonna be around for a little while longer,'\" Trebek added. \"And that would be so nice.”
Trebek’s memoir, “The Answer Is ...: Reflections On My Life, goes on sale Tuesday. He said he is donating his proceeds from the book to charity.
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