Alex Trebek is a survivor.
Alex Trebek is a survivor.
The beloved Jeopardy! host returned to his hosting duties during the season 36 premiere of the popular game show on Monday, but not before he acknowledged his battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Trebek announced his diagnosis in March and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our show," Trebek said with a smile. "I truly hope you folks have enjoyed revisiting some of our special tournaments throughout this past summer. But today, Jeopardy! begins its 36th season on the air and I'm happy to report I'm still here."
Trebek made no more mention of his health battle after the opening, and the episode featured contestant Jason Zuffranieri winning his seventh consecutive game.
As ET previously reported, July 22 was actually Jeopardy!'s first day of taping this season. Between July 22 and the taping on Aug. 28, 79-year-old Trebek filmed 40 shows for season 36.
In May, Trebek gave good news about his cancer battle, sharing that some of his tumors had shrunk by more than 50 percent and that according to doctors, he's "near remission."
"It's kind of mind-boggling," he told People. "The doctors said they hadn't seen this kind of positive result in their memory."
Aside from undergoing chemotherapy, the legendary game show host credited well wishes and prayers from fans for his positive results.
"I told the doctors, this has to be more than just the chemo, and they agreed it could very well be an important part of this," he said.
In June, Trebek -- a longtime hockey fan -- got a standing ovation at the NHL Awards when he presented the Hart Memorial Trophy, the league's MVP award.
Watch the video below to see the heartwarming moment:
RELATED CONTENT:
