Alex Trebek's Health: Why My Family Cares So Much About the Jeopardy Game Show Host by Dawn Taylor

My family has been following the ongoing cancer battle of Alex Trebek, closely. When we first heard the news, we were sad, but his heroic strength gave us hope that he would recover.

But pancreatic cancer, I knew, was an aggressive one that few survive. I told my teenage daughters this because I wanted to prepare them for what I thought was going to be an unfavorable outcome.

Why do we care so much? Alex Trebek is just a host of a game show, a man we’ve never met. But it’s not that simple. Trebek is in our home regularly. Almost nightly, the show  Jeopardy has been something my daughters and I have watched together. There was a time when they were lucky to get even one question right. But still we watched and bickered about what we know and don’t know.

They are now teens and they often know many more answers than I do. Watching their knowledge of so many subjects grow over the years has been extremely rewarding. When someone claims the answer was on the tip of their tongue, the snarky comments have lessened.

We’ve all come to laugh, and even take risks, while answering without fear of embarrassment – all with the mostly gracious, and sometimes seemingly arrogant host we’ve come to love. His voice soothing as he walks us through the categories and has awkward small talk when getting to know the contestants.

He’s part of our lives, because he’s been there during a time we’ve come to love. Alex Trebek is Jeopardy. He’s become a part of a special time we share as a family. And even through tough times, we could always count on him to be there. And for half an hour we could bond during the show.

Recent news for Alex is not good, and we can see in the newer episodes his health deteriorating and our collective concern is proof that he’s not just a TV host.

He’s a man we’ve come to know and love.

Note: This post was written before the death of Alex Trebek on November 8, 2020.

Photo (main): Alex Trebek in the press room at the 46th Daytime Emmy Awards Gala at the Pasadena Civic Center on May 5, 2019, in Pasadena, California.

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