OPINION – Let Alex Trebek Do What He Wants With HIS Cancer

When Alex Trebek announced he had stage four pancreatic cancer, so many of us were shocked, and either immediately prayed for him or sent positive thoughts his way. At the very least, we thought, "Oh hell." But, not everyone could leave it at that. Some people feel the need to voice their concern over word choice.

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And this article...

I asked her to help me understand why win and lose aren’t the right ones.

“If one fights hard enough, they win,” she said. “If they lose, despite how valiantly they may have battled or fought, there is an air of weakness, failing, fault. If one loses, are they not a loser? Is that not how it works in war and other battles? There is a winner and a loser.

Different people handle cancer diagnosis differently. Not everyone will, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light..." (Dylan Thomas), just as not everyone will accept a diagnosis where the survival rate is almost nil, they want to do everything they can to get rid of the cancer.

Personally, I agree with the idea behind the Tweet and the article. No one should be shamed or feel less-than because they died from cancer or chose not to fight it with all they have. Please know, these people are speaking from personal experience and they feel those words deeply and they hurt.

What I don't agree with is the seeming need to expect Alex Trebek to handle it differently. To come down on him for his word choice. It is his experience. He makes the decisions. He says the words. If it isn't the call you'd make, that's cool. It is his call, and I don't understand the need to call him out for it.

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