Alex Trebek has great news about his battle with pancreatic cancer.
Alex Trebek has great news about his battle with pancreatic cancer.
The 78-year-old Jeopardy! host revealed he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in March, and vowed to fight the disease. In a new interview with People, Trebek says some of the tumors have now shrunk by more than 50 percent and that according to doctors, he's "near remission."
"It’s kind of mind-boggling," he says. "The doctors said they hadn't seen this kind of positive result in their memory … some of the tumors have already shrunk by more than 50 percent."
Trebek, who still has to undergo several more rounds of chemotherapy, says he cried at the amazing news.
"But they were tears of joy, not tears of depression," he noted, referencing his interview with Good Morning America earlier this month, where he said one of the side effects of chemotherapy for him has been sudden surges of "deep deep sadness" that brought on crying.
Aside from undergoing chemotherapy, the legendary game show host credits 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 says.
When Trebek spoke to CBS Sunday Morning's Jane Pauley earlier this month, he got candid about dealing with excruciatingly painful days while still working.
"I was on the floor writhing in pain... It went from a three to an 11," he recalled of one incident. "And I just couldn't believe. I didn't know what was happening. And it happened three or four times a day while we were taping. So that was a little ... little rough on me."
Still, he was determined to push through.
"So, I got myself together and spasms...usually last about 10 to 15 minutes," he noted. "So, all right, here we go again. 'Anybody got any pain pills?' And I don't like taking pain pills. But...I got through it. And the producers were very kind. They said, 'Look, if you -- If you don't want to do the show, we'll just cancel taping.' I said, 'No. We're here. We're doing the shows.'"
ET recently spoke to Trebek's good friend, Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White, at the 26th Annual Race to Erase MS Gala in Los Angeles, where she said he was "family" and shared that he was "hanging in there."
"He is a strong man and has such a will to conquer this," she said. "Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t do it."
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