If you are like me, you were surprised and concerned about the recent announcement that the 78-year-old host of Jeopardy was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer.

Trebek, born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada became a television host starting with a Canadian show called Music Hop, in 1963. His career continued to climb, reaching what some believe to be hosting the ultimate game show, Jeopardy in 1984. For the past 35 years, Trebek as been the iconic face and voice of Jeopardy, one of the most popular game shows in American history.

Last week, Trebek stunned his audience when he announced that he had just been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. He was upbeat and said he was fighting the disease and planned to continue to host the show since his contract was through 2022.

So, what is pancreatic cancer and what is the outlook for Trebek and his recovery?

Naturally, pancreatic cancer is cancer of the pancreas. The pancreas is 6-inch long organ that lies just behind the stomach, next to the spleen. The main role of the pancreas is the production of the vital hormone insulin, along with other hormones and enzymes that are used in digestion. It is possible to survive if the pancreas is removed, but it does cause severe diabetes which is difficult to control and leads to many other serious health issues.

There are three types of pancreatic cancer:

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma: About 95% of cancers of the exocrine pancreas are adenocarcinomas. These cancers usually start in the ducts of the pancreas. Less often, they develop from the cells that make the pancreatic enzymes, in which case they are called acinar cell carcinomas.

Less common types of exocrine cancer: Other, less common exocrine cancers include adenosquamous carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, signet ring cell carcinomas, undifferentiated carcinomas, and undifferentiated carcinomas with giant cells.

Ampullary cancer (carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater): This cancer starts in the ampulla of Vater, which is where the bile duct and pancreatic duct come together and empty into the small intestine. Ampullary cancers aren’t technically pancreatic cancers, but they are included here because they are treated much the same.

Ampullary cancers often block the bile duct while they’re still small and have not spread far. This blockage causes bile to build up in the body, which leads to yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice). Because of this, these cancers are usually found earlier than most pancreatic cancers, and they usually have a better prognosis (outlook).

According to the American Cancer Society, about 29,940 men and 26,830 women (56,770) will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year. Sadly, about 23,800 men and 21,950 women (45,750) will die this year from pancreatic cancer, making it one of the deadliest forms of cancer around.

The overall survivability rate (living 5-years) for pancreatic has risen to 9%. However, the current survivability rate for stage IV (metastatic) pancreatic cancer is only 3%.

That doesn’t provide a very good outlook for Alex Trebek, but with his resources, he will undoubtedly receive the best treatment possible, meaning that he just may be one of that 3%.