Alex Trebek says his cancer treatment is going well, but if it fails, he won’t “go to any extraordinary measures to ensure my survival.”
The 79-year-old Jeopardy host made the remarks in an interview with Good Morning America on Monday.
He said explaining his decision to his family was tough, but they handled it well. “They understand that there is a certain element regarding quality of life,” said Trebek. “And if the quality of life is not there, it’s hard, sometimes, to push and just say, ‘Well, I’m gonna keep going even though I’m miserable.’”
Trebek also said his experimental immunotherapy treatment for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is going so well that doctors consider him “a bit of an anomaly” and they expect him to celebrate two years of survivorship in February.
Trebek made the remarks while promoting his new memoir, “The Answer Is …: Reflections On My Life”, which goes on sale Tuesday. He is donating proceeds from the book to charity.
“I’ve received so many expressions of love and so many prayers said on my behalf since the diagnosis was made public that I thought, ‘Well, maybe — maybe the people would care to learn something about me,’” Trebek said.
Trebek told Good Morning America there have been difficult moments during his battle, but, “I’m good at faking it. There have been tough moments. And I don’t know what it is, but when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. Let’s do it. Get out there, suck it up, make it happen.”
Trebek says he keeps delaying putting his affairs in order because the positive treatment results and the book have given him a will to survive.
“So there’s something in the back of my mind that says, ‘Whoa, hold on a second, host, breathe. Maybe you’re gonna be around for a little while longer,'” he said. “And that would be so nice.”