<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="time" canonical="https://time.com/5664811/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardy/" -->

---
title: Alex Trebek Returns to Jeopardy! After Cancer Diagnosis
description: Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek is back to work just months after his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis, and says he&#x27;s &quot;on the mend.&quot;
canonical: https://time.com/5664811/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardy/
author: TIME
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2019-08-29T19:56:28.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T07:16:31.592Z
article:section: Entertainment
og:title: Alex Trebek Returns to &#x27;Jeopardy!&#x27; Just Months After Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis
og:description: &#x27;I&#x27;ve gone through a lot of chemotherapy, and thankfully that is now over&#x27;
og:url: https://time.com/5664811/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardy/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcff4733ae0585c1/698a02218fd2ee2c1e360068/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardyjpg.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 675
og:image:alt: Alex Trebek of the TV show Jeopardy.
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Alex Trebek Returns to &#x27;Jeopardy!&#x27; Just Months After Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis
twitter:description: &#x27;I&#x27;ve gone through a lot of chemotherapy, and thankfully that is now over&#x27;
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcff4733ae0585c1/698a02218fd2ee2c1e360068/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardyjpg.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcff4733ae0585c1/698a02218fd2ee2c1e360068/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardyjpg.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# 'I'm On the Mend.' Alex Trebek Returns to _Jeopardy!_ Just Months After Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis


by 

[Kathy Ehrich Dowd](https://time.com/author/kathy-dowd/)


## Kathy Ehrich Dowd


Aug 29, 2019 7:56 PM UTC

![Alex Trebek of the TV show Jeopardy.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcff4733ae0585c1/698a02218fd2ee2c1e360068/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardyjpg.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

WASHINGTON, D.C., APRIL 17, 2012: Canadian American television star Alex Trebek has been the host of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! since 1984.

WASHINGTON, D.C., APRIL 17, 2012: Canadian American television star Alex Trebek has been the host of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! since 1984.The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images

by 

[Kathy Ehrich Dowd](https://time.com/author/kathy-dowd/)


## Kathy Ehrich Dowd


Aug 29, 2019 7:56 PM UTC

[_Jeopardy!_](https://time.com/tag/jeopardy/) host [Alex Trebek](https://time.com/5535695/alex-trebek-successor-betty-white/) is back to work just months after his [stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis](https://time.com/5546554/alex-trebek-jeopardy-cancer/).

In a video posted Thursday on the [iconic show’s official social channels](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time%5Fcontinue=75&v=MoKxdZ8jvEs), the Canadian-born host confirms he’s back at the podium for season 36\. Trebek has hosted the brainy quiz show since 1984.

> [](https://twitter.com/Jeopardy/status/1167142434653868032)

“I’ve gone through a lot of chemotherapy, and thankfully that is now over,” Trebek says in a short video. “I’m on the mend, and that’s all I can hope for right now.”

The news comes just five months after Trebek revealed his diagnosis to fans. At the time, he said that although the cancer has a “low survival rate,” he vowed “to fight this, and I’m going to keep working.”

Indeed, Trebek announced in May — less than three months after his diagnosis — that [he was in “near-remission,”](https://time.com/5597517/alex-trebek-cancer-near-remission/) and likened his recovery to something of a miracle.

“The doctors say they haven’t seen this kind of result in memory,” he said to _People_ at the time, crediting the support he received from ardent fans with helping him heal. “I told the doctors, ‘This has to be more than just the chemo.’” He said they did not disagree.

Some of those cheering fans helped Trebek ring in his birthday on set last month, and Thursday’s video shows Trebek mugging for the crowd as they sing ‘Happy Birthday’ while he stands beside a cake that says — what else? — “Who Is 79?”

“We have some exciting things coming up, and I can’t wait to share them with all of you,” Trebek tells fans just before the video ends. “Let me tell you, it’s going to be a good year.”

```json
[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5664811/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5664811/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardy/"},"headline":"'I'm On the Mend.' Alex Trebek Returns to Jeopardy! Just Months After Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis","datePublished":"2019-08-29T19:56:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T07:16:31.592Z","description":"'I've gone through a lot of chemotherapy, and thankfully that is now over'","url":"https://time.com/5664811/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardy/","keywords":["Television","Cancer","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcff4733ae0585c1/698a02218fd2ee2c1e360068/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardyjpg.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kathy Ehrich Dowd","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kathy-dowd/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcff4733ae0585c1/698a02218fd2ee2c1e360068/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardyjpg.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Alex Trebek of the TV show Jeopardy.","caption":"Alex Trebek of the TV show Jeopardy.","creditText":"The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5664811/alex-trebek-returns-jeopardy/","name":"'I'm On the Mend.' Alex Trebek Returns to Jeopardy! Just Months After Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis"}}]}]
```

