Alex Trebek, best known for hosting the game show “Jeopardy!” took to social media to give a realistic-yet-hopeful update on his health after living with stage 4 pancreatic cancer for a year.
“The one-year survival rate for stage 4 pancreatic cancer is 18%. I’m very happy to report I have just reached that marker,” he said.
Trebek shared his plans on beating the odds again, to be among the 7% of patients to reach the two-year mark.
Trebek, 79, has hosted more than 7,000 episodes of "Jeopardy!" since he was hired in 1984, according to CNN. He has won six Daytime Emmy Awards, most recently on May 5, 2019, for "Outstanding Game Show Host."
»PHOTOS: Alex Trebek through the years
Fans showed immense support when Trebek first announced his diagnosis last March. He joked that he had no intentions of stepping down as host of the daily syndicated show.
"Truth told, I have to [keep hosting] 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." — Trebek's 2019 cancer announcement
In August, the show host announced that he thought he was "near remission" but then was forced to resume chemotherapy a few weeks later in September, according to Buzzfeed News.
In an interview with Vox at the beginning of the year, he shared that he was prepared to step down on "a whim" and give a 30-second goodbye at the end of an episode, if need be.
»RELATED: Alex Trebek returns to taping 'Jeopardy!' after revealing cancer diagnosis
While his most recent video update shone with optimism, Trebek remained candid on the realities of living with cancer.
"Now I'd be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one. There were some good days but a lot of not-so-good days. I joked with friends that the cancer won't kill me; the chemo treatments will. There were moments of great pain, days when certain bodily functions no longer functioned, and sudden, massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it really was worth fighting on," Trebek shared in Wednesday's update.
However, he plans to “brush that aside quickly" and keep fighting because of his wife, his faith and all the other cancer fighters in similar situations.
“If we — because so many of us are involved in this same situation — if we take it just one day at a time, with a positive attitude, anything is possible,” he said at the end of his update.
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The American Cancer Society said about 57,600 will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020, accounting for 3% of all cancer but 7% of cancer deaths.
A stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis means the cancer has spread to other organs, typically the liver or the lungs. There is no known cure, according to healthline, and treatment is focused on extending life and improving the quality of life.
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