‘Jeopardy!’ Host Alex Trebek Reflects On His Life – ‘I’m Not Afraid Of Dying’

“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek has been open about his battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer ever since he was diagnosed earlier this year. While Trebek is glad that he has inspired people all over the world with his fight, he sometimes wonders if taking his personal battle public was the right decision for him. But, at the end of the day, Trebek is taking time to reflect on his life.

Trebek’s Public Battle With Cancer

“There are a lot of people out there who have cancers who continue to live their lives and go about their business and do it without recognition,” said Trebek, 79, according to USA Today. “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.”

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Since revealing his diagnosis to the world back in March, Trebek has been flooded with letters from people who are fighting similar cancer battles. He recalls being contacted by one woman ten years his junior who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer herself:

“I tried to cheer her up best I could, but it’s tough to be as optimistic as you can when the other person feels none of that optimism. They feel only despair. And I don’t know that I’m strong enough or intelligent enough to alleviate that despair. There are moment when I have some regrets about having gone public with it because there’s a little too much of Alex Trebek out there and I regret that. I have become, in many ways, the spokesperson for pancreatic cancer and I’m not sure… there are a lot of expectations.”

Trebek Discusses Moments Of ‘Weaknesses’

Now in his second round of chemotherapy, Trebek acknowledged that while there are moments of “weaknesses,” he always feels good to go when it’s time to film “Jeopardy!”

“I will keep doing (the show) as long as my skills do not diminish. And they have started to diminish,” Trebek said, referring to a chemotherapy side effect that occasionally has him slurring his words. “When I feel my skills have diminished to the point where I notice and am bothered by it because all the people around me are saying, ‘No, it’s OK!’ But there will come a point when they’re no longer able to say ‘It’s OK’ … We’ll play it by ear and keep chunking along until we either win or lose.”

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‘I’m Not Afraid Of Dying’

Trebek is taking each day as it comes. And he concluded by saying that he is not afraid of what may come next.

“The thought of the pancreatic cancer does not frighten me. I’m not afraid of dying,” he continued. “One thing they’re not going to say at my funeral as part of a eulogy: ‘He was taken from us too soon’. I’m 79 years old. I have lived a good life, a full life and I’m nearing the end of that life. I know that. I’m not going to delude myself.”

Please keep Alex Trebek in your thoughts and prayers as he continues this cancer battle.