Alex Trebek says he may stop receiving cancer treatment if current treatment is unsuccessful

Trebek has recently released a memoir called, The Answer Is … Reflections on My Life, in which he writes, “quality of life was an important consideration” in making the decision.

Trebek said he’s “lived a good, full life,” and is “not afraid of dying.” He added that when he broke the news to his two children with his wife—Jean Currivan— they had, “a good cry.”

The legendary host was born in Sudbury, Ont. and is currently living in Los Angeles. He has also won seven Emmy Awards, is 79-years-old and is turning 80 on Wednesday.

In March 2019, Trebek announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer, though he continued to host Jeopardy! while receiving treatment.

He writes about his career and his life throughout the new memoir along with the world, his health and the coronavirus pandemic.

Trebek admits that he sometimes regrets his decision to make his diagnosis public, adding that he feels “a lot of pressure to always be tough.”

He talks about the way cancer has affected his body—noting he’s sometimes “a basket case” before taping but he writes that when he is onstage, “it all changes suddenly. I’m myself again. I feel good.”

“No matter how I feel before the show, when I get out there it’s all forgotten because there’s a show to be done. Work to do.”

Trebek says that when he is unable to host the show as well as he needs to, he’ll step down.

“Whenever it gets to that point, I’ll walk away,” he writes.

The memoir includes Trebek's childhood with his parents Lucille Lagace and George Edward Terebeychuk as well as his sister Barbara.

Trebek studied at the University of Ottawa and began announcing for CBC programs such as quiz show, “Reach for the Top.”

He then made his way to Los Angeles and hosted for a number of other programs before debuting on Jeopardy! In 1984. From there he made his name as a beloved pop-culture figure.

Trebek also speaks about his “expensive hairpiece” and his famous mustache in the memoir.

He says he wants to be “remembered first of all as a good and loving husband and father,” along with helping people put on their best performance.

“Because that was my job. That is what a host is supposed to do.”