A recent winner of a "Jeopardy!" competition for teenagers is donating a substantial portion of his prize to pancreatic cancer research amid Alex Trebek's battle with the disease.
Avi Gupta is contributing more than $10,000 to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute in Portland, Ore., in honor of Trebek, the longtime host of "Jeopardy!"
Trebek has been open about his experiences since announcing his diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer in March, and Gupta says he considers the host an inspiration.
"When I heard of his diagnosis, I was devastated," Gupta said in a post on the OHSU website. "Not because I knew him personally, but because he's played a big role in my life and the lives of millions of Americans."
He also urged others to join him in donating to help fight cancer.
Gupta, 18, won his "Jeopardy!" tournament over the summer to earn $100,000.
"This #PancreaticCancerAwarenessMonth, join us in the fight to #EndCancer," Gupta tweeted. "Working with Alex on @Jeopardy was an honor, and I hope the #Jeopardy community will join me in honoring him."
The exact amount of Gupta's donation is $10,314, with the $314 meant to signify Gupta's favorite number of 3.14 for Pi.
Trebek, 79, said in a video announcing his diagnosis in March that he planned "to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease."
He revealed in September that he had started chemotherapy again after doctors had initially believed he'd be able to move on to different forms of treatment following his previous round of chemo.
