Alex Trebek says he’s in ‘near remission’ after Stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis

Just months after announcing his Stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Alex Trebek is seeing marked improvements.

In an interview with People published Wednesday, the “Jeopardy!” host revealed that he’s in “near remission,” according to doctors.

“It’s kind of mind-boggling,” Trebek told the magazine. “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%.”

According to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, partial remission has been reached when a patient’s tumors have shrunk by 50 percent. Complete remission means cancer can no longer be detected in blood tests and scans.

Trebek, who has discussed how he has struggled with “deep sadness” at times during his cancer battle, says receiving good news from his doctors has made him emotional in a good way.

“They were tears of joy, not tears of depression,” the 79-year-old said.

He also credits his improvements to his supportive fans.

“I’ve got a couple million people out there who have expressed their good thoughts, their positive energy directed towards me and their prayers,” he added. “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.”

He added, “I’ve got a lot of love out there headed in my direction and a lot of prayers, and I will never ever minimize the value of that.”

Read more at usatoday.com.