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Alex Trebek may have to leave ‘Jeopardy!’ due to cancer battle, but he’s ‘not afraid of dying’

TV personality Alex Trebek speaks before the screening of 'Apollo 13' during day two of the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival on March 27, 2015 in Los Angeles, Calif. Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek opened up about his battle with pancreatic cancer over the weekend.

The 79-year-old game show host recently revealed that he needed more chemotherapy after doctors urged him to undergo another round of the treatment after he lost a significant amount of weight.

Click to play video: '‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek says he needs more chemotherapy'
‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek says he needs more chemotherapy

On Friday, he told CTV’s Lisa LaFlamme that he has begun to get sores inside his mouth from the chemotherapy, which makes it difficult to enunciate and he can hear himself slurring his words on Jeopardy!

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READ MORE: ‘Jeopardy!’ contestant Jason Zuffranieri wins 17th straight game

“I will keep doing it (the show) as long as my skills do not diminish, and they have started to diminish,” he revealed about his future as the game show’s host.

“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 they (fans and producers) will no longer be able to say, ‘It’s OK.’”

Trebek, who has been hosting Jeopardy! for 35 years, said he doesn’t fear death and spoke about his own memorial service.

“I’m not afraid of dying,” Trebek said. “I’m 79 years old. So, hey, I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life. I know that.

Click to play video: 'Alex Trebek says he had final chemotherapy treatment for cancer'
Alex Trebek says he had final chemotherapy treatment for cancer

“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.'”

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Trebek said that he has some regrets about going public with his battle.

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“There’s a little too much Alex Trebek out there,” he said. “A lot of people are coming to me and looking for help, reassurance — and that’s tough.”

READ MORE: ‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek reveals he needs more chemotherapy

In early March, the longtime Jeopardy! host disclosed that he’d been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, an illness with a grim prognosis and an approximately nine per cent survival rate.

In May, Trebek said that according to his doctors, he’s in “near remission” and had been responding very well to chemotherapy.

Click to play video: 'Alex Trebek’s doctors say he is in “near remission” after cancer diagnosis'
Alex Trebek’s doctors say he is in “near remission” after cancer diagnosis

“It’s kind of mind-boggling,” Trebek said. “The doctors said they hadn’t seen this kind of positive result in their memory… Some of the tumours have already shrunk by more than 50 per cent.”

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In September, the Jeopardy! host said he had been “doing so well” but weeks later his “numbers went sky high.”

“I lost about 12 pounds in a week, and my numbers went sky high, much higher than they were when I was first diagnosed,” he shared. “So, the doctors have decided that I have to undergo chemo again, and that’s what I’m doing.”

READ MORE: Alex Trebek celebrates his 79th birthday in the most ‘Jeopardy!’ way possible

When speaking with the outlet on Friday, Trebek said that his numbers “blew up and went 50 per cent higher than when it was first diagnosed. Go figure.”

Click to play video: 'Alex Trebek announces his return to ‘Jeopardy!’ for season 36'
Alex Trebek announces his return to ‘Jeopardy!’ for season 36

“I’m hanging in,” Trebek continued. “So we’re back on the chemo and we’ll see if the numbers go down. And if they do … they can’t keep doing it forever, of course.”

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—With files from Meaghan Wray

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