Alex Trebek's Legacy Honored with Cancer Research Fund Aiming to Improve Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
Launched in partnership with Katie Couric's Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) foundation, the Alex Trebek Fund aims to "accelerate critical research and support families impacted by pancreatic cancer", an illness with the highest mortality rate of all major cancers, already raising over a million dollars in contributions.
- The Alex Trebek Fund, a collaboration between Alex Trebek's family and Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), aims to fund critical research for better pancreatic cancer treatment. November's Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month coincides with the fund's launch.
- Launched with a donation of more than $1 million from Jean Trebek and the Estate of Barbara Hanania, the initiative is a tribute to the TV host's legacy and has been met with widespread support from the Jeopardy! community.
- Alex Trebek, who hosted Jeopardy! for more than 36 years and became a beloved figure in American households, announced his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in March 2019 and died in November 2020.
- The fund aims to assist patients and their families affected by pancreatic cancer, a disease with an intimidating prognosis. The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients is between 5-10%, dropping to 1% for those diagnosed with stage 4.
- The push for more comprehensive research into pancreatic cancer treatments comes amidst a worrying increase in diagnoses. However, 2023 marked the first year in half a decade where survival rates for pancreatic cancer patients actually increased, highlighting the progress made in research and the importance of continued funding.
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