Alex Trebek Power: 'Jeopardy!' Champ Christine Whelchel Normalizes Cancer With This
Alex Trebek seemingly inspired another "Jeopardy!" contestant who braved and beat cancer.
The Monday episode of "Jeopardy!" gave way to champion Christine Whelchel as she shared a powerful message about cancer recovery.
During the show's "meet the contestants" portion, host Ken Jennings introduced Whelchel to the viewers and noted that she looked different from last week's appearances. The contestant, a piano teacher, revealed that she wore a wig to cover the short haircut she has after receiving treatments for her breast cancer.
But after having inspiring realizations, she opted not to wear a wig anymore in order to show people what recovering from cancer looks like.
"I decided I didn't need to hide behind the wig anymore. I want to normalize what going through cancer recovery really looks like," she said, causing the show to call her a "strong Jeopardy! player" and a stronger person.
Following the interview, "Jeopardy!" viewers applauded her bravery and even compared her to Alex Trebek - the original show host who died due to pancreatic cancer.
For what it's worth, Trebek revealed in March 2019 that he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Despite his diagnosis, he continued to work in the show until his death in November 2020. He still went through many but succumbed to the disease at the age of 80.
"Jeopardy!" Champion Christine Whelchel's Life Story
"Jeopardy!" viewers first learned about her disease during her first appearance on the show on Wednesday.
According to Whelchel, she was diagnosed in March 2021 but confirmed she is now in remission.
"I was diagnosed in March of 2021, and one of the first things I did a couple of weeks after being diagnosed was taking the 'Jeopardy!' test," she said. "And I ended up getting my audition the night before my surgery in May."
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She noted that she is cancer-free as of the moment, and it is just one of the positive things that happened to her recently. On top of that, she racked up $73,602 throughout her four-day run. She is set to compete again on Tuesday.
Although she now has a successful stint in the show, she told Williams Source that joining "Jeopardy!" is the scariest thing she has ever done. After overcoming her fear, she experienced a wonderful time amid such a stressful situation.
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