Alex Trebek thanks countless supporters after cancer announcement

March 15, 2019

Game show host Alex Trebek took to social media again to thank Jeopardy viewers after an outpouring of support following his announcement that he had pancreatic cancer.

In a video message posted on Twitter, Sudbury, Ont.-born Trebek said that he has received hundreds of thousands of tweets, texts, emails and letters from people wishing him well. And that he’s also heard from former contestants, including Watson, the IBM computer, who sent him a get-well card.

“I am thankful for the kind words, the prayers and the advice you have offered,” Trebek said. “And I am extremely touched by the warmth you have expressed in your comments to me. I’m a lucky guy.”

Earlier this month, Trebek announced in a YouTube video that he was one of 50,000 other people in the United States who are diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer each year. Even though the prognosis was “not very encouraging” he said he was “going to fight this and I’m going to keep working.”

The 78-year-old said he had three more years on his Jeopardy contract.

“So help me keep the faith, and we’ll win. We’ll get it done. Thank you.”

He has endured several health scares in the past 12 years, including blood clots on his brain caused by a fall in 2017 and a minor heart attack in 2007.

Trebek has won several Emmy Awards for hosting Jeopardy since 1984. His matter-of-fact delivery style and genial personality have made him a worldwide star and the subject of spoofs on Saturday Night Live.