Dr. Marc Siegel: Alex Trebek has pancreatic cancer -- Why does it have such a low survival rate?

Treating pancreatic cancer requires a personalized approach.'JEOPARDY!' HOST ALEX TREBEK SAYS HE’S BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH STAGE 4 PANCREATIC CANCERAccording to Dr. Diane Simeone, Director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health, “extensive research in pancreatic cancer is defining new subgroups of patients that may have much more favorable responses to different treatments (a personalized medicine approach), and an expanding number of promising therapies are being tested in clinical trials. Long-standing diabetes also increases your risk.To show you how deadly pancreatic cancer is, according to the American Cancer Society over 56,000 people are diagnosed with it every year and over 45,000 people die from it.Alex Trebek appears to have a very positive outlook, which reveals courage and presents him as a great role model once again for a public who lives in fear of being healthy one day and deathly ill the next.We have all heard of medical miracles, and I believe in them strongly, as I wrote in my book, "The Inner Pulse, Unlocking the Secret Code of Sickness and Health." However, though there is evidence that a positive outlook can keep you healthier longer despite toxic treatments, there is no proof that it uniformly extends life.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPWe can pray for Alex Trebek, who has performed much charitable work in his life for the humanitarian group World Vision as well as the United Service Organization.We can only hope that his cancer responds well to his own personalized treatment and that new treatments come along in time to extend his life.