“I believe in a Supreme Being, and I don’t expect any special favors — he or she is busy enough looking after more serious problems in the world,” said Alex Trebeck on an ABC prime-time special Thursday night. “[But] I do not minimize the power of prayer.”
Trebek, along with his wife, Jean Trebek, did not hold back in an interview that covered death, hope, and the powerful love of his supportive fans. The beloved “Jeopardy!” host is living his cancer journey like no one else in the public eye — candidly, good-humoredly and sharing his ups and downs with a transparent brilliance that’s made him a role model for many.
Read MoreThe first person he told was his wife, Jean, 56, who sat by his side in their Los Angeles home for the interview. The couple have been lovingly married for nearly 20 years, and Jean admitted to Strahan that she worries about her husband. “For me, it’s when I see him in pain and I can’t help him. When he doesn’t eat right. When he has too much diet soda.”
“When you get to be 79 and be in as good a shape as I… oh darn it! Blew it, Alex,” he joked.
Alex Trebek: ‘I’ve Got Nothing to Lose’
Trebek responded well to early chemotherapy, but by September 2019, his numbers shot up and he returned to treatment.
If “the cancer won’t kill me, the chemo will kill me,” he told Strahan.
But now, he said, optimism shining through, he's open to a different kind of chemotherapy or even a clinical trial. "We may try a new protocol…or something in the clinical trial phase that is not chemotherapy," adding, "I don't mind experimenting. I've got nothing to lose, so let's go for it."
During breaks while taping @Jeopardy, Alex Trebek says he takes questions from the audience. Our cameras caught one of the Q&As where the famed host mentioned the great @BettyMWhite in his answer…can you guess the question he was asked? #WhatIsJeopardy https://t.co/WsbYEliNUv pic.twitter.com/qyamKDoUqL
20/20 (@ABC2020) January 3, 2020
‘I’ve Learned Something in the Past Year’
For Trebek, a positive attitude is essential.
“My self-deprecating humor is worth its weight in gold,” he said. But he’s also accepting of his uncertain prognosis, noting, "I have learned something in the past year and it's this: We don't know when we're going to die.
"Because of the cancer diagnosis,” he continued, “it's no longer an open-ended life, it's a closed-ended life because of the terrible … survival rates of pancreatic cancer. Because of that, and something else that is operating here, people all over America and abroad have decided they want to let me know now, while I'm alive, about the impact that I've been having on their existence."
That impact has shown up in the form of gifts, said Jean: “Baked goods, blankets, vitamins, holy water, letters, chocolates, prayer flags from Tibet, an oar from a rowing team, signed sports jerseys a lot of thoughtful gifts,” she wrote Thursday in a post on her website, Insidewink.com. Although she rarely comments publicly on her husband or his cancer, she added, “I’m touched by the tremendous outpouring of affection for my husband by his fans.”
No Plans to Retire From Jeopardy!
Continued treatment will come with side effects, Trebek acknowledged. But, for now, he plans to stay with the show as long as he is able. Jean told Strahan she supports this decision, citing the positive impact of his “Jeopardy!” family.
'Jeopardy!' announcer Johnny Gilbert on what makes the show special: “This show shows you how smart people can be.” #WhatIsJeopardy https://t.co/8wt6erYuQg pic.twitter.com/OnKdEEtOk3
20/20 (@ABC2020) January 3, 2020
Retiring “will be a significant moment for me,” Alex mused. “But I’ve kind of in my mind rehearsed it already. And what I would do on that day is tell the director, ‘Time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end, that’s all I want.’ ”
He continued, “And I will say my goodbyes. I will tell people, ‘Don’t ask me who’s going to replace me, because I have no say in that whatsoever, but I’m sure that if you give them the same love and attention and respect that you’ve shown me for the past 30-however many years, then they will be a success and the show will continue being a success. And until we meet again, God bless you, and goodbye.”
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