Earlier this month, we reported that “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Now, he has received an open letter from a woman who survived this disease, and she has some words of advice for him as he begins his own battle.

Back in 2012, Elise Roth Tedeschi was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, a disease that has a very low survival rate. Though many people fall into a depression when given this diagnosis, Elise decided that she would not let it get her down and instead focused on fighting it.

“I felt that, no matter what, I was gonna beat it,” Elise wrote. “I didn’t care what the doctors said.”

Using her strong will and the support of her family and friends, Elise took targeted genetic treatment. Thanks to the combination of all of this, she is still in great condition all these years later!

Elise went on to explain to Trebek the genetic code that has allowed her to fight the cancer. It turns out that the very same genes that caused the cancer to affect her organ are also helping her fight the disease, which makes her think that this treatment is far more effective than the chemotherapy she has also gotten.

Elise was born a fighter, and she never gave up even when all of the odds were stacked against her. Whenever she would get down about her situation, she said that she would remind herself of the “four Fs:” Faith, family, friends and fun.

“Even in the midst of getting down to 89 pounds and getting really sick, there were times I still woke up incredibly joyful,” she said. “I remember telling my dad, ‘I’m so thankful for going through this.’ He thought I was crazy for saying that, but I felt as, though for me, faith was a huge piece of it.”

“Honestly, during that time, I would think … if I had nine months to live, I was going to make those nine months great,” Elise said. “I still worked. I really wanted normalcy in my life, and I took those small moments with my kids and made them important.”

These days, cancer is in the rearview mirror for Elise. Her two sons were in kindergarten and second grade when she was diagnosed, and they are now in middle and high school. Even in her sickest moments, she wanted to make sure that she was the best mother possible to her boys.

“There were times I was super weak. I really didn’t want to get up. But I forced myself to do that, because I wanted good memories (with my boys),” she said. “I tried to make it very normal. I never told them I thought I was going to die. It allowed them not to be fearful.”

Trebek revealed his diagnosis to fans just days after he was diagnosed, and Elise was proud of him for doing so.

“I love Alex’s attitude. He just went out there and told people rather than news media hitting on it first,” Elise said. “That’s really smart, and really brave. You have a little more control when you do that.”

Elise wants Trebek to know that if she can beat cancer, so can he! Check out her full letter to him below.

On January 5, 2012, I received the most devastating news: I had cancer. I had stage 4pancreatic cancer. I had stage 4 inoperable pancreatic cancer — a surefire death sentence. I was reluctantly told that I had about nine months to live.

I was filled with fear, sadness and disbelief. I thought, “How is this even possible?” I was married to the love of my life for 11 years; I had two amazing boys, Jake (then 8) and Ryan (then 6); and a job that I absolutely loved. But my life, as I knew it, changed forever in an instant.

So on January 6, 2012, the decision to fight was an easy one, because there was no way that I was leaving my little boys and no way that anyone else was going to marry my husband!

I had no idea what would lie ahead. I had no idea that I would end up feeling that this was a gift in a strange package. I had no idea that this would be a journey of love, hope and faith.

Like you, Mr. Trebek, I had an outpouring of love and support (on a much, much, much smaller scale). I was astounded by the kindness and sheer beauty from friends and even complete strangers.

My family became my prayer warriors, my caregivers and my security. My husband held down the home front; he would even carry me upstairs when I was too weak.

My boys thought it was so funny, but I loved that they had this kind of role model — and I did think it was really romantic! My besties became my sons’ surrogate moms, taking them to swim practice and endless fun activities. The good far outweighed the bad.

I ended up doing 12 rounds of chemotherapy, 25 rounds of stereo tactical radiation along with a 24/5 (24 hours a day, five days a week) chemo pump and then a cutting-edge surgery, called the IRE or NanoKnife. I also did some more post-surgery chemo.

You may wonder how I stayed positive. My answer was always the same: “I didn’t choose to get cancer and I didn’t choose to go through this, but I do get to choose my attitude. So I choose to be happy and live my life!”

Guess what?! I beat the crap out of stage 4 pancreatic cancer and have been in in full remission for six and a half years.

So Alex Trebek, go kick cancer’s butt — it has no chance against you! You got this!