Cindy Stowell always dreamed she'd be a contestant on "Jeopardy!"
But while she was able to tape her appearance on the game show before she died of cancer, she didn't get the chance to watch herself compete on network TV.
Stowell died Dec. 5, according to her longtime boyfriend Jason Hess.
The Texas science content developer competed on the game show at the end of August, according to a statement on the "Jeopardy!" website. But only a few staffers and host Alex Trebek knew she was sick.
“When Cindy Stowell taped her appearance on Jeopardy!, she had Stage 4 cancer. Competing on Jeopardy! was a lifelong dream for Cindy, and we’re glad she was able to do so," Trebek said in the statement.
Hess also said on Twitter that she was on painkillers during the taping and fighting a high-grade fever, which turned out to be a blood infection.
When she learned this summer that she'd been invited to an in-person audition for the show, she worried she wouldn't live long enough to tape her episodes.
“Do you have any idea how long it typically takes between an in-person interview, and the taping date?" she asked contestant producer Maggie Speak in an email.
"I ask because I just found out that I don’t have too much longer to live. The doctor’s best guess is about six months."
She told Speak she wanted to donate any winnings to charities involved in cancer research.
Knowing Stowell's condition during taping, Hess cautioned viewers to "be nice" to her.
But he needn't have worried about her performance. On Tuesday, when her first episode aired, family and friends got to watch her win, with a one-day total of US$22,801, according to WPVI-TV.
Stowell will appear again on Wednesday.
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