Alex Trebek diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by AKA, Mar 6, 2019.

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  1. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    A really good article - and very sobering, which is the reality.

    One great point was made, which I totally understand popular media wouldn't want to deal with - and Trebek himself might not be ready to deal with:

    "The myth that stopping treatment means giving up blocks rational discussion of what the end of life should look like, Puri said. She’d like journalists to ask Trebek — and other celebrities with fatal illnesses — “about what quality of life would mean the most to him, and what his lines in the sand would be” with continuing treatment.

    “If he said, ‘I am having discussions with my family about my wishes when my disease worsens,’ that could potentially normalize these sorts of conversations and inspire others to have them as well,” she said. “I have not seen a celebrity doing that to date.”
     
  2. Jack White

    Jack White Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    I don't think many people would want to make those kind of statements publicly, celebrity status and any sense of denial or acceptance about one's own mortality aside. I knew a man who recently died of cancer. When he was first diagnosed he undertook treatment, he initially responded well and experienced some remission and felt better. Publicly his attitude was "I'm going to carry on living" and he made statements very close to Trebek's - something like "The treatments are working. I'm recovering. I'm on my way to being cured." Privately he was arranging his funeral down to the smallest detail, was admitted to a palliative care nursing home and died.
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2019
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  3. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Good points, for sure.
     
  4. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Jobs died because he insisted on trying all the woo-woo "alternative" stuff first, and by the time he came back to modern medicine it was too late.
     
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  5. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    He would have died anyway.

    Michael Landon tried the same crap. When your time is up it’s up no matter your money or fame. Death doesn’t care.
     
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  6. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    At the time, I read something (quoted anonymously) from one of his doctors that he had a very treatable case and if he had started with standard treatment when advised he'd still be alive making life intolerable for Apple employees to this day.
     
  7. videoman

    videoman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lake Tahoe, NV
    I believe that was covered in the "Steve Jobs" biography.
     
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  8. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    That was it! Yes, one of those biographies where you come away absolutely loathing the subject. I read a lot of tech journalists who complain about that book, that it was unfair to their friend, but I can only assume that was lingering after-effects of the Reality Distortion Field™. Anyone who refused to put license plates on his cars and parked across multiple handicapped spots was an jerkwad - no matter how many pretty, shiny things his company made.
     
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  9. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    I can only hope that some here with seemingly no compassion will not be afflicted with something as insidious as pancreatic or any terminal form of cancer.
    A litte hope may not stop cancer from consuming you- or celebrities- but it can make life a little more bearable and meaningful.
     
  10. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Pancreatic cancer sucks. There have been some rare cases where people have survived, but the numbers aren't in most people's favor. I worked with a guy in his late 40s (now 50s) who is still living and he was able to have a procedure where they removed his pancreas. His recovery time took a while, but a result of the operation is he became permanently diabetic.

    I'm pretty sure British guitarist Wilko Johnson had a similar procedure. You might remember his acting role on the first two seasons of "Game of Thrones." He'd been diagnosed as inoperable in 2012 and given months to live and finished a farewell tour, in addition to recording a final album with Roger Daltrey. Thankfully, Wilko agreed to undergo the surgery after a surprise offer/second opinion from a doctor.
     
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  11. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    I recall it was called the "whipple" or something. The tech community was in a temporary state of bliss, short-lived of course. But as noted below, he would've died either way.
     
  12. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Thanks for posting that link. My own BS meters were hitting the red when the Trebek puff pieces poured out. It's interesting to read a grounded article from a medical point of view.

    Also important are the decisions on what kind of quality of life a person with this affliction wants. I've always thought it would be horrific to put myself or watch a loved one go through some of these extreme treatments rather than manage pain and try to enjoy each remaining day. I'm very lucky so far not to be faced with those questions.

    dan c
     
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  13. PearlJamNoCode

    PearlJamNoCode Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    Yes. The Whipple procedure. My grandfather had it done. It is an extremely invasive surgery and recovery is extremely unpleasant.
     
  14. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    From what I've read it's even more invasive than the operation my dad was briefly considering. At 88 he would not have survived it, and I'm sure most late-stage pancreatic cancer patients wouldn't survive the whipple either.
     
  15. Mirrorblade.1

    Mirrorblade.1 Forum Resident

    It just borrowed time same thing happened to our family chiropractor
    he was in remission for 7 yrs got blood cancer. and passed.
     
  16. AKA

    AKA Senior Member Thread Starter

  17. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
  18. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia

    it all is. 7 years is a lifetime for some/
     
  19. bpmd1962

    bpmd1962 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Jobs had islet cell tumor which is not the garden variety pancreatic cancer....much more indolent ... Way different than Swayze’s and Landon’s
     
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  20. swandown

    swandown Under Assistant West Coast Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I'm glad that he's back but his carefully-worded statement does not give me much hope for a meaningful recovery.
     
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  21. Dude111

    Dude111 An Awesome Dude

    Location:
    US
    Lets hope Alex continues to do fine :)
     
  22. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    He was interviewed on CBC tv yesterday... there have been weird long remissions documented however rare, and also he mentioned a new treatment of some sort that had shown remarkable success with his very specific form of the cancer but which he hasn't started yet. I hope that works as well as it can for him, he has a great attitude!
     
  23. Platterpus

    Platterpus Senior Member

    Keep up the good fight Alex. You are doing great!
     
  24. AKA

    AKA Senior Member Thread Starter

  25. MRamble

    MRamble Forum Resident

    He really doesn't have to provide these updates but the fact that he does and in this way says a lot about the guy. Hoping for the very best for him.
     
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