One of the Jeopardy! contestants, who fought against cancer, died eight days before airing the episode that features her. Cindy Stowell had stage IV cancer and was on painkillers during the filming of the episode, Aug. 31.
The episode will air Dec. 13, and people who were close to Stowell during her illness encourage the audience of the TV show to donate for cancer programs that fight the disease. She died Dec. 5.
'Jeopardy!' Contestant Fighting Cancer
Stowell passed the online contestant test at the beginning of 2016, and had a face to face audition in Oklahoma City. Show host Alex Trebek and a few members of the show's staff knew about the woman's condition during the taping of the Jeopardy! episode.
"Cindy came on Jeopardy! to play the game she loved and in doing so, she was able to make a contribution to cancer research in the hopes that no one else would have to go through what she did,'' noted Jason Hess, Cindy's boyfriend, in a joint statement he and her parents published.
The initial contact Stowell had with the TV show was through a message she sent to Maggie Speak, the contestant producer.
"Do you have any idea how long it typically takes between an in person interview, and the taping date? I ask because I just found out that I don't have too much longer to live. The doctor's best guess is about 6 months," the first part of the woman's outreach message noted.
A Dream Come True
The staff of the TV show was also affected by the woman's death.
"Competing on Jeopardy! was a lifelong dream for Cindy, and we're glad she was able to do so. All of us at Jeopardy! offer our condolences and best wishes to her family and friends,'' said Trebek.
Jason Hess encouraged people to donate money to fight cancer. Among his Twitter messages, some were eulogies to his longtime girlfriend.
"In the early morning hours cancer took the best friend, partner and pub trivia teammate a guy could ask for. Love you always," was one of Hess' messages.
The donations would be for the Cancer Research Institute, an organization which scientists are devoted to developing immunotherapy treatments that can help cancer patients live longer. The donation process can be a one-time gift, or a recurring one.
