Alex Trebek thanks fans for ‘your prayers’ after his tumors shrink dramatically

Alex Trebek is “back in action” after finishing chemotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer. The longtime host made the announcement in a video released by “Jeopardy!” on Thursday.

“I’ve gone through a lot of chemotherapy and thankfully that is over,” Trebek said. “I’m on the mend and that is all I can say right now.”

The announcement comes just five months after Trebek revealed that he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer and declared that he would “fight this.”

When Trebek disclosed his diagnosis in March, he addressed “Jeopardy!” viewers: “Now, normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging,” he said at the time, “but I’m going to keep working, and with the love and support of my family and friends—and with the help of your prayers, also—I plan to beat the low-survival-rate statistics for this disease.”

In May, Trebek told “People” magazine that some of his tumors had shrunk by “almost 50 percent” and that he was near remission. He said the response to his illness was “mind-boggling” and gave credit to his fans for “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,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of love out there headed in my direction and a lot of prayer, and I will never ever minimize the value of that.”

Trebek actually returned to taping the show on July 22, his 79th birthday. The 36th season of Jeopardy! begins airing on Sept. 9.

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