Alex Trebek is the consummate trouper.
In a revealing interview, the longtime "Jeopardy!" host discussed working through agonizing cancer pain while trying to make it through taping sessions.
"This got really bad. I was on the floor writhing in pain. It went from a 3 to an 11. And I just couldn't believe, I didn't know what was happening," he told CBS' "Sunday Morning" host Jane Pauley. "And it happened three or four times a day while we were taping. So, that was a little rough on me."
The 78-year-old Trebek publicly revealed his stage-four pancreatic cancer diagnosis on March 6, but earlier, he mentioned that what he described as stomach pain was actually an abdomen lump "the size of a small fist."
He was also adamant about not postponing production.
"(The producers) were very kind," recalled Trebek. "They said, 'Look, if you don't wanna do the show, we'll just cancel taping.' I said, 'No. We're here. We're doing the shows.'"
Even more revealing is his admission to wearing a toupee after starting to lose his hair during chemotherapy sessions. He joked that his faux hair looked better than his natural tresses and that viewers will be kept guessing.
"'Is that Alex's real hair or is that a full hairpiece?'" he mused "Jeopardy!" watchers asking themselves. "Because they all know that when you start chemo, you lose you hair. So, which is it?"
Trebek expects to return after the summer hiatus for his 36th season.
Pauley's interview airs Sunday morning at 9 a.m. on CBS.
