During the most recent episode of Jeopardy!, which was taped before longtime host Alex Trebek passed away, the show aired a segment about pancreatic cancer awareness. In the segment, Trebek discussed his own personal experience with the disease and urged viewers to visit their doctor should they experience any symptoms.
"Before we get into today's match, a word about today. Today is World Pancreatic Cancer Day and if you or anyone you know has developed some of the symptoms that I have talked about in the past then by all means, get to a doctor, get yourself tested," Trebek told viewers. "I want you to be safe. This is a terrible, terrible disease."
Not only did the show air a segment about pancreatic cancer awareness, the official Jeopardy! Twitter account released a statement from Trebek's widow Jean. "It's about time we stop taking for granted the preciousness of each day and start living in the full experience of kindness and coherency," the quote reads.
Trebek first revealed he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in March 2019. "I'm going to fight this and I'm going to keep working," he assured his devoted fans. Trebek returned to work just one week later. He continued to film the show until 8 days before his passing earlier this month.
Shortly after Trebek's death, Jeopardy! executive producer paid tribute to the longtime host', calling his passing "an enormous loss for theJeopardy!staff, crew and all of Alex’s millions of fans." Richards went on to call Trebek "a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to hostJeopardy!was an incredible honor. His belief in the importance of the show and his willingness to push himself to perform at the highest level was the most inspiring demonstration of courage I have ever seen."
"His constant desire to learn, his kindness and his professionalism will be with all of us forever," Richards concluded.
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