Alex Trebek Gives Major Health Update Amid Cancer Treatment: ‘I’m Feeling Great’

Alex Trebek is “feeling great” as he continues treatment for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer more than a year after initially being diagnosed. The Jeopardy! host gave a health update while sharing news about the game show’s special plans for summer while coronavirus prevents filming in the studio.

“I’m doing well. I’ve been continuing my treatment, and it is paying off, though it does fatigue me a great deal,” he explained. “My numbers are good; I’m feeling great.” He’s even been feeling well enough to write his new memoir, The Answer Is . . .: Reflections on My Life, due out July 21.

Trebek also drew attention to his facial hair, which the longtime host noted he tries to grow during every filming break. “Clearly, I’ve been doing that while waiting for us to safely return into the studio, which I hope will be very, very soon,” he said. After the coronavirus shut down filming in March, Trebek said he is just now recording intros from home for “very special Jeopardy! episodes” coming in July.

“For the first time ever, we are going to open the Jeopardy! vaults and take another look at some of our favorite episodes, including the very first Jeopardy! show I ever hosted — mustache and all,” Trebek explained of the summer plans amid the filming hiatus. “Meanwhile, my wish for all of you — stay safe.”

One year after his diagnosis, Trebek gave a sobering update on his health to fans. “The one-year survival rate for stage four pancreatic cancer patients is 18 percent. I’m very happy to report I have just reached that marker,” he said on social media. “Now, I’d be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one. There were some good days but a lot of not-so-good days. I joked with friends that the cancer won’t kill me, the chemo treatments will.”

He added that while he had questioned whether the pain was worth it or not, he considered giving up “a betrayal of my wife and soulmate, Jean, who has given her all to help me survive.” Trebek added, “It would have been a betrayal of other cancer patients who have looked to me as an inspiration and a cheerleader of sorts, of the value of living and hope.”

Since then, the game show host has been champing at the bit to get back to production, a Jeopardy! spokesperson told TVLine last month. “Alex is looking forward to resuming production as soon as we are able to do so,” they said at the time “He’s told us he wants to be one of the first shows back in production.”