Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek says he’ll halt cancer treatment if current course doesn’t work

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has revealed he will halt his cancer treatment if the current course doesn’t work, as he promotes his new memoir which reveals the national treasure swears a lot.

The popular TV host, 79, who has been a firm fixture in American living rooms for decades, said he does not want to keep suffering a poor quality of life as he battles stage four pancreatic cancer. 

His announcement comes ahead of the release of his memoir ‘The Answer Is …: Reflections on My Life’ on Tuesday – the day of his 80th birthday – which reveals he has already survived a car crash, two heart attacks and brain surgery.

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek (pictured) has revealed he will halt his cancer treatment if the current course doesn’t work, as he promotes his new memoir which reveals the national treasure swears a lot

Trebek told the New York Times the pain from his cancer and the treatment has left him wanting to die at times. 

‘Yesterday morning my wife came to me and said, “How are you feeling?” And I said, “I feel like I want to die.” It was that bad,’ he said. 

‘There comes a time where you have to make a decision as to whether you want to continue with such a low quality of life, or whether you want to just ease yourself into the next level.’ 

He added: ‘It doesn’t bother me in the least.’

Trebek credited filming for the hit show with helping to give him a new lease of life amid his health battle. 

He told the Times he woke up in agony a few weeks ago, barely slept all night and struggled to even climb the stairs.

But as soon as he started filming, he felt instantly stronger. 

‘Oddly enough, when we started taping I suddenly started to regain my strength,’ he said. 

The popular TV host, 79, (pictured in 1990) who has been a firm fixture in American living rooms for decades, said he does not want to keep suffering a poor quality of life as he battles stage four pancreatic cancer

Trebek (pictured on the show) was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer last year

‘It’s the strangest thing. It is some kind of an elixir.’ 

He said he takes great enjoyment in knowing millions of fans are watching him and playing along on the game show.    

‘They’ve got their ballpoint pens, and they’re clicking away, seeing if they can click in faster than the contestants,’ Trebek said. 

‘And if they come up with a few correct responses, by gosh, that makes them feel good, because they know the people on that screen are bright. They’ve been tested. And look at that, I beat them on three consecutive clues. Holy smokes. I should try out for ‘Jeopardy!’

Trebek said he managed to narrate introductions for 20 episodes, including the first episode of he hosted 1984, taped promotional videos and recorded an update on his cancer battle for his fans.   

‘The Answer Is …: Reflections on My Life’ will be released Tuesday – the day of his 80th birthday 

Trebek announced in March 2019 that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told he had less than an 18 percent chance of living another year. 

Some of the tumors shrunk and he responded well to treatment initially but his prognosis has since worsened. 

Trebek vowed to continue filming Jeopardy! as long as he possibly could but he admitted that, as soon as his performance declines, he will hang up his hat in front of the camera.  

‘It’s a quality program, and I think I do a good job hosting it, and when I start slipping, I’ll stop hosting,’ he told the Times. 

Trebek will reveal more about his life in front of the camera in is upcoming memoir, released July 21.

The book, which he warned fans doesn’t have any skeletons in the cupboard, shines a light on the mild-mannered personality’s shock penchant for swearing and his rebellious nature as a child.

Trebek, who was born George Alexander Trebek in Ontario, Canada, was a wild child who almost got expelled from boarding school, picked fights with bullies and fell through a frozen river. 

He will also tell of a time he accidentally ate four or five hash brownies at a Malibu party and woke up three days later.

In 1984, Trebek got his big break when he landed the job of hosting game show Jeopardy! after a series of smaller TV roles.  

The entertainer has up to now turned down requests for him to write down his life story but told the Times the time was right because ‘they offered me a good deal of money’ that he is donating to charity.

He added ‘it wasn’t John Bolton-type money’ in reference to the former Donald Trump adviser who received a $2 million advance for his recent bombshell book exposing shocking behind the scenes events at the White House. 

‘I want you to hear it from me,’ he also said, pointing out that several unofficial memoirs have been written about him in the past.  

Trebek has been filming introductions to old episodes of Jeopardy! from a studio in his Los Angeles home after production for the show halted back in March due to the pandemic.   

Trebek revealed his diagnosis last year. He credited filming for the show for giving him a lease of life amid his battle

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