Alex Trebek, 79, Admits He’s ‘Not Afraid of Dying’ Because He’s Lived a ‘Full Life’

He’s a fighter! Alex Trebek is not letting his stage IV pancreatic cancer get the best of him. However, he does know that there might be a day when his sickness will make him step back from his Jeopardy! hosting duties.

“I will keep doing it as long as my skills do not diminish, and they have started to diminish,” Alex, 79, explained during a recent interview with Canada’s CTV News.

Being on the show every week has been getting harder and harder for Alex to manage. Due to his treatments, he’s been getting sores in his mouth and it has made it difficult for him to pronounce certain words.

“I’m sure there are observant members of the television audience that notice also, but they’re forgiving,” he said. “But there will come a point when [fans and producers] will no longer be able to say, ‘It’s OK.’”

Alex is preparing himself for the worst and he’s not afraid of what will happen to him if he ends up losing his battle with cancer. “I’m not afraid of dying,” he said. “I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life … if it happens, why should I be afraid that?”

Even with a lot on his mind, the TV personality still hasn’t lost his sense of humor. “One thing they’re not going to say at my funeral, as a part of a eulogy, is, ‘He was taken from us too soon,’” Alex joked.

Right now, Alex is just focused on getting better and he’s been doing this by undergoing chemotherapy again.

“I was doing so well and my numbers went down to the equivalent of a normal human being who does not have pancreatic cancer, so we were all very optimistic,” he previously said on Good Morning America about his health. “They said, ‘Good, we’re gonna stop chemo, we’ll start you on immunotherapy’ and I lost about 12 pounds in a week and my numbers went sky-high, much higher than they were when I was first diagnosed.”

Don’t worry, Alex. We know you’re going to win this battle!