A year after Alex Trebek somberly announced that he had been diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer, the Jeopardy legend has given us an update on his ongoing journey with the disease. And, perhaps sensing that the world is due for some nice news for a change, he cut right to the chase: With the one-year survival rate being 18 percent, he’s “very happy to report†he just reached that milestone. “I’d be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one,†Trebek explained in a new Jeopardy! video message. “There were some good days but a lot of no-so-good days. I joked with friends that the cancer won’t kill me, but the chemo treatments will. Moments when certain bodily functions no longer functioned and some massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it was really worth fighting on. But I brushed that aside quickly, because that would have been a massive betrayal.â€
A betrayal, Trebek clarified, to his “wife and soulmate†Jean, as well as to “all of other cancer patients who have looked to me as an inspiration and cheerleader of sorts of the value of living and hope. And it certainly would’ve been a betrayal of my faith in God and the millions of prayers that have been said on my behalf.†While Trebek said that the current pancreatic cancer statistic for a two-year survival rate is only 7 percent, he and his oncologist are optimistic that the odds will be beat. “He was certain that one year from now, the two of us would be sitting in his office celebrating my second anniversary of survival,†the host said. “And you know something? If we take it just one day at a time with a positive attitude, anything is possible.†And with that, we’re going to step away to do a light sobbing break.