NPR – Alex Trebek, who has hosted the Jeopardy! game show since 1984, announced Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

I feel like I always drop the emotional blogs, for better or for worse. I suppose there is something to be said for being reminded once a week or so how precious life is and what’s important.

Alex Trebek, America’s favorite game show host, revealed yesterday that he is fighting pancreatic cancer. And I’m going to start with the facts so I can grow positive not bleak. Pancreatic cancer is one of the worst kinds in terms of survival rate. A glance at the article above tells me less than 10% of those diagnosed are still around five years later. Also, Trebek is 78. He would seem to be in otherwise fighting form and certainly does not appear “frail,” but you figure you have to account for that. So take all that as you will.

His announcement, made in a short video on the Jeopardy set, was particularly jarring. The usually all-business Trebek’s voice quivered a couple of times. He was emotional and with the risk of possibly looking too hard, he looked scared. Which is 100000% to be expected and even respected when facing such a fight as his.

Trebek’s message though was run-through-a-wall inspiring. He pretty much said “fuck prognoses I’m going to win.” The always elegantly dressed, put together, and professional host was downright curt and defiant in his declaration of war over a worthy adversary. It definitely gave a lot of hope.

So here’s hoping that Alex Trebek and what is surely a team of doctors find a way to beat this thing. We’ve already been promised he’ll fight. He even joked that he kind of has to stick around because he has three years left on his contract. Maybe it will help a little that he has every living room in America fighting alongside him.

I’ll take “Fuck Cancer” for eleventy billion, Alex.