‘Jeopardy!’ Player Reveals Ongoing Cancer Battle During Game

Jeopardy! fans were faced with an emotional moment on Nov. 19, 2024, after one of the contestants revealed on the air that he was battling Stage IV cancer. While he fell short in the end, Chris Burge showed a brave face revealing the diagnosis while also going for the big win.

“I understand you’re facing a health challenge right now that you wanted to talk about,” Ken Jennings asked during the mid-show interview segment.

“Yeah, I’ve been fighting Stage IV colon cancer since May,” Burge said. “Young adult diagnoses have increased a lot in recent years. Definitely encourage people not to ignore any kind of symptoms. Definitely push to get tested, especially if you have any family history of it.”

Jennings praised Burge for helping to raise awareness and getting people to get themselves checked before it is too late. He fell short in the end, but the show did crown a new champion after an interesting end to the emotional game. Burge walks away with a lot of praise, though.

“Here’s wishing Chris Burge a full and complete recovery. You performed well against two strong competitors, Chris, and I’m rooting for you. But also…tick off a few more bucket list items! Well done, one fan wrote online.

“Great game by all three players where any of the three Daily Doubles going the other way would’ve changed who won. All the best to Chris in his hopeful recovery,” another added.

“Kudos to Chris for using his time to help raise awareness about colorectal cancer which is being diagnosed in young adults long before screening starts at 45. Don’t ignore symptoms. Best wishes to you Chris,” a third wrote.

Here’s hoping for a swift recovery for Burge after his treatment is complete. Best of luck.