"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek has announced that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
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The host posted a message on the show's YouTube channel.
"Hi everyone, I have some news to share with all of you and it's in keeping with my longtime policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy! fan base. I also wanted to prevent you from reading or hearing some overblown or inaccurate reports regarding my health. So therefore, I wanted to be the one to pass along this information.
"Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I'm going to fight this, and I'm going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease. Truth told, I have to! Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years! So help me. Keep the faith and we'll win. We'll get it done. Thank you."
"Jeopardy!" runs on Channel 11 weeknights at 7 p.m. followed by "Wheel of Fortune." Longtime "Wheel" host Pat Sajak tweeted his reaction to the announcement.
More than 90 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within five years of diagnosis.
"As far as early warning signs, unfortunately there are very few and warning signs for pancreatic cancer are fairly nonspecific," said Dr. Suzanne Schiffman, an oncologist for Allegheny Health Network.
Symptoms that might show up are:
- abdominal pain
- weight loss
- nausea
- yellow jaundice
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