Alex Trebek recalls being "on the floor writhing in pain" between Jeopardy! tapings due to his pancreatic cancer chemotherapy treatment

CBS News

"This got really bad," the Jeopardy! host tells Jane Pauley on the upcoming edition of CBS Sunday Morning, where he also reveals he's been wearing a hairpiece. "I was on the floor writhing in pain," he says. "It went from a 3 to an 11. And I just couldn't believe, I didn't know what was happening. And it happened three or four times a day while we were taping. So, that was a little rough on me." Trebek adds: "I taped the show and then I made it to the dressing room on one occasion, just barely, before I writhed in pain and cried in pain. And I had 15 minutes before the next show. So, I got myself together and spasms of that kind usually last about 10 to 15 minutes. So, all right, here we go again: 'Anybody got any pain pills?' And I don't like taking pain pills. But I got through it. And the producers were very kind. 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.'"