If you somehow missed it when he originally revealed the news, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek revealed three months ago that he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Fans were obviously shocked when he shared the sad news.
But things have made a significant turn for the better since his original diagnosis. Alex just shared an update that, according to doctors, he is "near remission!"
Before we all get ahead of ourselves though, his positive change in health doesn't necessarily mean that he is out of the woods just yet. He still has a ways to go, even though his tumors have shrunk significantly.
Alex's update came in the form of PEOPLE's new cover story, where he shared, “it’s kind of mind-boggling.”
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer only has a 9 percent survival rate, but Alex's cancer has been responding very well to chemotherapy.
“The doctors said they hadn’t seen this kind of positive result in their memory…some of the tumors have already shrunk by more than 50 percent.”
In order for him to hopefully get into full remission, he still faces several more rounds of chemotherapy. But the fight ahead doesn't take away from the fact that he is thrilled to see this kind of response so far.
Alex has been honest about his diagnosis and treatment, and the deep sadness he has experienced over the last three months, but after receiving positive news, he said he cried tears of joy, not depression.
And there is one thing he gives credit to for the progress:
“I’ve got a couple million people out there who have expressed their good thoughts, their positive energy directed towards me and their prayers... I told the doctors, this has to be more than just the chemo, and they agreed it could very well be an important part of this.”
Well, I'm emotional now. Keep fighting on, Alex!! We're all rooting for you!
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