“I’m not afraid of dying,” Alex Trebek said in a new interview after doctors determined in September that the 79-year-old “Jeopardy!” host needed another round of chemotherapy to fight stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“One thing they’re not going to say at my funeral, as a part of a eulogy, is ‘He was taken from us too soon,'” Trebek told told CTV’s Lisa LaFlamme in Ottawa on Friday.
Trebek said he had already begun his latest round of chemotherapy in the hope that his numbers will decrease and that he’s noticed some hair loss as part of the new treatment.
Trebek had previously said in May that he was in remission and returned to work on “Jeopardy!” in August to film the game show’s 36th season. Trebek’s strain of pancreatic cancer has a 9% survival rate.
“I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life. I know that,” he said. “I’m not going to delude myself. So if it happens, it happens. Why should I be afraid that?”
Trebek also had mixed feelings about going public about his cancer diagnosis, saying he had some regrets about putting too much of himself out there and becoming the “spokesperson” for pancreatic cancer. He said he’s been approached by many people who have been dealt similar diagnoses and he’s struggled with finding the words to provide them solace.
“I don’t know if I’m strong enough or intelligent enough to alleviate some of that despair,” he said. “To be the inspiration to a lot of other people makes me feel good, but it does place a responsibility on me that I feel I’m not deserving of.”
Trebek was in Canada for an event at the University of Ottawa, his alma mater, to which he made a $2.1 million donation to the Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue, which aims “enrich and broaden public debate” and preserve democracy across the world.
Trebek also fielded questions about his ability to continue on with filming “Jeopardy!” saying that he will work “as long as my skills do not diminish,” and that he can usually find the strength but there will come a time when he has to stop.
“There are weaknesses I feel in my body, but I can always suck it up when it’s time to tape the show,” he said. “There will come a point when they (fans and producers) will no longer be able to say, ‘It’s okay.'”
Watch the first part of Trebek’s interview on CTV above.
19 Embarrassing Game Show Fails From 'Family Feud' to 'Jeopardy' (Videos)
The first question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" is generally the easiest, but this sleep-deprived college student still couldn't manage to get it right.
Former “American Idol” contestant Kellie Pickler tried to figure out where Budapest is in a November 2007 episode of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” However, after she determined Europe isn’t a country, it all went downhill.
According to this contestant on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" from January 2010, owls squirt ink. Yes, you read that correctly.
"Catch 21" contestant Kimberly was determined not to give her competitor Beau five points because she didn't want him to be 10 points closer to 21. So she gave her fellow contestant Shawn five points, which boosted his score of 16 to a 21. Someone needs a basic math lesson.
According to one contestant on "Jeopardy!," the electronic music duo LMFAO introduced us to "It's a Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)." Erm, nope, that was definitely Jay-Z.
This contestant on “Wheel of Fortune” in May 2012 made it to the bonus round, but failed to guess the magic "thing" before time ran out. Clue: It rhymes with wand.
"Black" was this "Family Feud" contestant's answer to "What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of zombies?" Host Steve Harvey looked even more astounded when she justified her answer by saying, “I don’t know if they’re white.”
In April 2014, Julian from Indiana was on "Wheel of Fortune" and lost the round by mispronouncing the winning phrase ... and then blew the next two rounds, too.
In the fast money round of "Family Feud," two family members need to get 200 points combined by answering a series of survey questions. In this episode from May 2014, the first member scored a whopping 182 points, meaning the second member only needed 18 points to win ... which she failed to get.
Sometimes buzzing in first isn't always the best idea, especially when the question is "Name something a doctor might pull out of a person" and you respond with "gerbil."
You get a car, you get a car, everybody gets a car! “Price Is Right” model Manuela Arbelaez thought she’d lost her job (she didn't) when she accidentally gave away a free car in April 2015. Luckily, the producers thought the goof was hilarious.
We’ll take “You’re All a Bunch of Losers” for $500, Alex. Unfortunately, "Springf" isn't a city in the United States.
If this woman on "Family Feud" could ask the Wizard of Oz one thing to give her husband it would be -- "a really big thing." Could you be more specific?
This wasn't an accident. "Jeopardy!" contestant Viraj Mehta from Stanford Unviersity said that he subtly flipped off the camera during his February 2017 episode on purpose. Luckily for us, it wasn't censored.
We guess he just isn't a Tennessee Williams fan? Missing any "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle with just one letter missing would hurt, but this "A Streetcar Naked Desire" gaffe from March 2017 is just embarrassing.
EMINEM AND JACK WHITE ARE NOT THE SAME, JULIE! #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/eLVyk1TNn2— Hunter Alek Homistek (@HunterAHomistek) January 12, 2018
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Yes, both Eminem and Jack White have roots in Detroit, but come on, Em is not the guy who wrote "Seven Nation Army."
“Family Feud Canada” contestant Eve really laid an egg with her “chicken” answer. The survey: “Name Popeye’s favorite food.” Yeah, she said “chicken," not spinach.
This "Wheel of Fortune" contestant took a wild guess with "Chasing Tail" as the answer to this puzzle before immediately starting to laugh at her raunchy answer. Pat Sajak made a wise sealing-his-lips-and-throwing-away-the-key motion in lieu of a comment.
Former NFL player Bruce Smith had an... interesting answer to a question asking what tool Captain Hook might replace his hook with if he were to moonlight as a handyman. "A penis?" was Smith's second guess, which left Steve Harvey dumbfounded for several seconds before informing him, "Your ass is going on YouTube, though."
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Everyone says and does dumb things, but some of us unfortunately do it on national TV
The first question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" is generally the easiest, but this sleep-deprived college student still couldn't manage to get it right.