--- title: Alex Trebek Has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer description: Longtime 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek announced today that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. canonical: https://time.com/5546554/alex-trebek-jeopardy-cancer/ author: Tara Law article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-06T22:36:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T11:22:27.000Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek Has Stage 4 Cancer og:description: He acknowledged the disease has a 'low survival rate' og:url: https://time.com/5546554/alex-trebek-jeopardy-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1be810d4cf6dba6b/6989465f656a3f8958bd6bf2/alex-trebek-cancer-diagnosis.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Alex Trebek Has Stage 4 Cancer og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek Has Stage 4 Cancer twitter:description: He acknowledged the disease has a 'low survival rate' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1be810d4cf6dba6b/6989465f656a3f8958bd6bf2/alex-trebek-cancer-diagnosis.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:09 video:published: 2019-03-06 section: health topics: pancreatic cancer, Stage IV cancer, cancer diagnosis, prognosis and survival rates, public health announcement, celebrity health, Jeopardy! hosting contract, fighting illness, viewer support genre: news, personal announcement tones: candid, resolute, hopeful, open emotions: determination (high), hope (medium), concern (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: Jeopardy! fans, general news readers, cancer patients and families, health-interested viewers people: Alex Trebek organizations: Jeopardy! content_suitability: health controversy [00:11-00:15]; death [00:32-00:36] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # _Jeopardy!_ Host Alex Trebek Has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek Has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer [Watch (HLS stream): Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek Has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lBfFYCps.m3u8) (1:09)  _Published 2019-03-06. Longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek announced that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek announces that he has been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. He notes that the prognosis is typically discouraging but says he intends to fight it and beat the low survival statistics. He explains that he must host Jeopardy! for three more years under his contract and asks viewers to keep the faith. ## Key points - Trebek says he is sharing the news to be open and transparent with the Jeopardy! fan base. (00:03) - Trebek wants to get ahead of overblown or inaccurate reports about his health by announcing it himself. (00:11) - Trebek says about 50,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer each year. (00:24) - Trebek says he was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer this week. (00:28) - Trebek acknowledges that the prognosis for this cancer is normally not very encouraging. (00:32) - Trebek says he will fight the disease and keep working, with support from family, friends and prayers. (00:36) - Trebek plans to beat the low survival rate statistics for the disease. (00:48) - Trebek says that under the terms of his contract he must host Jeopardy! for three more years. (00:56) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:24] Announcing the diagnosis to viewers. Trebek explains he is sharing the news himself to be transparent and to counter inaccurate health reports. - [00:24 to 01:09] Fighting Stage IV pancreatic cancer. Trebek describes the diagnosis and prognosis, vows to fight, and asks viewers for support as he continues hosting. ## Key quotes - [00:03] Alex Trebek: "And it's in keeping with my long time policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy fan base." - [00:24] Alex Trebek: "just like 50, 000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer." - [00:36] Alex Trebek: "But I'm gonna fight this." - [00:48] Alex Trebek: "I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease." - [00:56] Alex Trebek: "under the terms of my contract. I have to host Jeopardy for three more years" ## Questions this video answers - What diagnosis has Alex Trebek received? [00:24] - Why is Trebek announcing his health news himself? [00:03] - What is the typical prognosis for Stage IV pancreatic cancer, according to Trebek? [00:32] - How does Trebek plan to respond to his diagnosis? [00:36] - Why does Trebek say he must keep hosting Jeopardy!? [00:56] ## Content suitability - health controversy [00:11-00:15]: Refers to overblown or inaccurate reports about the host's health. - death [00:32-00:36]: Mentions a cancer with a low survival rate and an unencouraging prognosis; no death is depicted.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:22 AM UTCPublished: Mar 6, 2019 10:36 PM UTC Longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek announced that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:22 AM UTCPublished: Mar 6, 2019 10:36 PM UTC Longtime _Jeopardy!_ host Alex Trebek announced that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Trebek, 78, has hosted the iconic quiz show since 1984\. He made the announcement in a video to fans on Wednesday. He said that the cancer has a “low survival rate” but that he intends to beat it. In the video, he said the following: --- > “” --- Trebek, who is married and has two adult children, has won numerous awards for his work on the show, including five Daytime Emmys and a Peabody Award, according to his biography on the show’s[ website](https://www.jeopardy.com/about/cast/alex-trebek). He has hosted nearly 8,000 episodes of the show, making him the Guinness World Records record-holder for Most Game Show Episodes Hosted by the Same Presenter. Trebek’s announcement was met with an enormous outpouring of support from his colleagues and fans on social media. Some of the best-known _Jeopardy!_ contestants spoke out on Twitter to express their sadness. Ken Jennings, who holds the record for the longest winning streak on the show, posted multiple tweets of encouragement after Trebek’s announcement. “One thing I know for a fact: Alex is very aware of how much he means to millions of people, and how we will be pulling for him…I hope that’s a comfort,” he wrote, adding that he hopes “some very good L.A. oncologists are getting ready to have their mispronunciations corrected.” > [](https://twitter.com/KenJennings/status/1103422010330308609) > [](https://twitter.com/KenJennings/status/1103427184209739778) Brad Rutter, who holds the record for winning the most money on the show, wrote, “Oh my God. If anyone can beat this, you can.” > [](https://twitter.com/bradrutter/status/1103417564430983169) Trebek also received an outpouring of support from other television hosts, including Dr. Oz and Chris Harrison, who hosts _The Bachelor_ and _Who Wants to be a Millionaire?_ > [](https://twitter.com/DrOz/status/1103423545915437056) > [](https://twitter.com/chrisbharrison/status/1103417645313875968) The family of Pat Sajak, longtime host of the similarly-iconic game show _Wheel of Fortune_, released a statement on Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/patsajak/status/1103418697270681600) **Correction: March 6** _The original version of this story misstated Alex Trebek’s tenure as host of Jeopardy! He has been the host since the show was revived in 1984, he is not the original, or only host of the show._ ## Transcript [00:00] Hi, everyone, I have some news to share with all of you. [00:03] And it's in keeping with my long time policy of being open [00:07] and transparent with our Jeopardy fan base. I also wanted [00:11] to prevent you from reading or hearing some overblown or [00:15] inaccurate reports regarding my health. So therefore I [00:19] wanted to be the one to pass along this information. Now, [00:24] just like 50, 000 other people in the United States each [00:28] year, this week I was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic [00:32] cancer. Now normally the prognosis for this is not [00:36] very encouraging, but I'm gonna fight this. And I'm going to [00:40] keep working, and with the love and support of my family [00:44] and friends, and with the help of your prayers also. I [00:48] plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this [00:52] disease. Truth told, I have to, because [00:56] under the terms of my contract. I have to host Jeopardy for [01:00] three more years so help me keep the faith [01:05] and we'll win. We'll get it done. 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