Alex Trebek won't use extraordinary measures in cancer battle

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Alex Trebek

Jeopardy host Alex Trebek won’t “go to any extraordinary measures to ensure my survival” if his current cancer treatment fails.

The star, 79, is currently undergoing an experimental immunotherapy regimen for stage four pancreatic cancer, with doctors apparently considering him “a bit of an anomaly” based on how well the treatment is going.

Speaking to Good Morning America, however, the TV personality revealed he has decided to plan for a worst case scenario now to give his wife Jean and their two children, Matthew, 30, and Emily, 27, time to accept it.

“They handled it beautifully,” he said. “They understand that there is a certain element regarding quality of life. And if the quality of life is not there, it’s hard sometimes to push and just say, Well, I’m gonna keep going even though I’m miserable.”

Trebek also worries about being “a terrible burden” to his wife, whom he’s been married to for 30 years.

“There was one day a few weeks ago when Jeanie asked me in the morning, ‘How do you feel?’ And I said, I feel like I wanna die. It was that bad,” he said. “I apologize to her and explain that it has nothing to do with my love for her or my feelings for her. It just has to do with the fact that I feel like I’m a terrible burden to her. And that bothers me tremendously.”

“She’s a saint,” Trebek, who releases his memoir, The Answer Is … Reflections on My Life on Tuesday, said. “She has so much goodness in her that she is always giving out, always putting out to help me get over difficult moments. And there have been some difficult moments. I’m just in awe of the way she handles it.”

The presenter added he plans to continue hosting his hit game show for as long as possible, despite his condition.