In a message to fans on Wednesday, Alex Trebek revealed he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The Jeopardy! host ensured viewers that he intends to "beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease."

At 78, Trebek has become an iconic TV personality, having hosted the game show Jeopardy! since 1984. And, as he says in his note to viewers, he intends to continue doing that until his contract is over in 2022. In a lighthearted moment at the end of his message, Trebek says, "Under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years! So help me. Keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done."

Here is Trebek's full message:

Hi everyone, I have some news to share with all of you and it’s in keeping with my longtime policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy! fan base. I also wanted to prevent you from reading or hearing some overblown or inaccurate reports regarding my health. So therefore, I wanted to be the one to pass along this information. Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease. Truth told, I have to! Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years! So help me. Keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done. Thank you.

This story originally appeared on Esquire.com .

* Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.