You’ve got to love this guy. Alex Trebek has been around since a lot of us were kids and even before then if you read his bio, and he’s been one of the individuals on TV that is simply great to watch since he’s not entirely condescending and he can tell people they’re wrong while seeming friendly about it. For so many years now he’s been one of those that people actually tune in to watch, and they even pay attention to his show if they find the time. As Rebecca Vanacker of ScreenRant reminds us though the public was absolutely shocked when it was revealed, by Trebek no less, that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Just in case there are those out there that are wondering what’s the difference between stage 3 or stage 1 it’s pretty simple, stage 4 is something that would have been considered terminal not all that long ago, before the medical breakthroughs that have been developed in the last several decades were finally implemented. In other words, stage 4 cancer used to be a death sentence that few if any people managed to come back from. And stage 4 pancreatic cancer means that the cancer has spread to the other organs of the body, which in turn, as you can imagine by now, is something that few people could imagine anyone coming back from.
Sasha Savitsky of Fox News managed to write that Trebek was on the mend apparently and is feeling good enough to come back to his show, which is amazing to many people since in stage 4 many cancer patients, no matter if they’ve done chemo or not, aren’t really feeling up to doing much of anything. But that’s Trebek, he’s the kind of guy that doesn’t lie down and is always on the move quite often by his own admission. Being in his 70s you might think that he was ready for retirement and a long deserved vacation after entertaining so many people for so long. But the guy is a machine when it comes to the show and doesn’t seem to have an ounce of quit in him. How many people would go through the pain and endure in this manner only to walk back on stage and announce that they’re feeling better and can go on? Personally after this big of a fight with cancer it seems like many of us would be willing to say ‘no thanks, time to pass the torch’. But so far Trebek hasn’t seen fit to do such a thing and it’s kind of a question as to whether he’ll end up doing this or if he’ll continue to host Jeopardy! until he simply can’t function any longer.
As Richard Gonzalez of NPR reported it is kind of mind-boggling, but I’m referring more to Trebek’s sheer and fierce determination rather than the fact that the chemo worked. The cancer isn’t gone, but doctors have been genuinely surprised to see that the treatments have been so effective. Even with treatment, the average hope for those with stage 4 cancer is typically a conditional matter and the concern is more along the lines of allowing the individual to pass on with some grace, dignity, and as little pain as possible. But Trebek is taking on this situation much like Bob Barker took on Happy Gilmore so many years ago, fists up and ready to rumble. No, I’m not calling Adam Sandler a cancer, I just happened to like the analogy.
The amount of fight in this guy is tremendous and as you can imagine his fans and fans of the show were supremely pleased to see him return, as their cries of adulation and respect were enough to make Trebek tear up as he walked onto the stage. And why not? He’s set the record for hosting a TV show that people happen to like and watch gladly as they try to figure out the clues along with the contestants, while wondering what Trebek is going to say next in his polite but firm voice as he either congratulates a contestant or lets them down easy as he tells them “Oh, sorry but that’s not correct, the answer we were looking for was…”. Be honest, you heard that in his voice didn’t you?
One of the biggest reasons we like Trebek is that he’s a genuine person. He doesn’t come out with a smile plastered to his face unless he’s feeling it and even if he’s having a bad day the chances are good that he’s not going to light into a contestant or the audience simply because he feels like it. This guy is a class act all the way and he has been for a long time now. Even when that final day comes that he steps off the show for the last time, or when he passes on, Alex Trebek will be an individual whose memory is going to live on for a long, long time.
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