Why does Steve Jobs look so thin?
Much of the speculation about Steve Jobs’ rail-thin appearance at the unveiling of the new iPhone on June 9 has tended to be all or nothing.
Either his cancer has returned or he is recovering from a bout with a “common bug,” as his spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. “That’s all there is to it,” she said. (The talk may have unnerved investors a bit: Apple (AAPL) shares fell 4.1% on Thursday and another 2.4% by midday Friday.)
But this is not the first time Jobs’ appearance has raised concerns about his health, and the “common bug” doesn’t explain the weight loss that’s evident in a review of his keynote videos over the past few years.
There’s another possibility, one that is consistent with both Jobs’ medical history and the changes in his appearance. It stems directly from the type of cancer for which he was treated four years ago and the nature of that treatment.
In 2003 Jobs learned that he had a malignant tumor in his pancreas - a large gland behind the stomach that supplies the body with insulin and digestive enzymes. The most common type of pancreatic cancer - adenocarcinoma - carries a life expectancy of about a year. Jobs was lucky; he had an extremely rare form called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor that can be treated surgically, without radiation or chemotherapy.
As Fortune reported in a March 5 cover story, (”The trouble with Steve Jobs“), Jobs tried various alternative therapies for nine months before the tumor was taken out on July 31, 2004, at the Stanford University Medical Clinic in Palo Alto, near his home.
“This weekend I underwent a successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from my pancreas,” Jobs wrote in an e-mail to Apple’s staff the next week. “I will be recuperating during the month of August, and expect to return to work in September.”
What Jobs didn’t tell the staff was that the operation he had undergone had radically rearranged his digestive organs and would permanently change the nature of his health.
The Fortune article reported - and Apple has not disputed - that his surgery was a variation on the Whipple procedure, or a pancreatoduodenectomy, the most common operation for pancreatic cancer.
Nobody who has a Whipple is ever quite the same.
The Whipple procedure, named for Allen Oldfather Whipple, the American doctor who perfected it in the 1930s, is a complex, Rube Goldberg-type operation in which surgeons remove the right-most section, or “head,” of the pancreas - as well as the gallbladder, part of the stomach, the lower half of the bile duct, and part of the small intestine - and then reassemble the whole thing in a new configuration. The severed surfaces of the stomach, bile duct, and remaining pancreas are stitched to the small intestine so that what’s left of the pancreas can continue to supply insulin and digestive enzymes.
These before-and-after diagrams, reposted with permission from the Mayo Clinic website, will give you a feel for what’s involved (e-mail subscribers click here):
A German study comparing the long-term effects of two variations of the Whipple procedure on 104 patients found an increase in diabetes and various degrees of gastric acid reflux, stomach ulcers, oily bowel movements, intolerance toward larger meals and aversion to certain foods. (Annals of Surgery, 2005)
Along with the digestive problems, patients often lose 5% to 10% of their body weight after the procedure. Weight stabilizes within the first year or two for the vast majority of patients, says Dr. Dilip Parekh, chief of tumor and endocrine surgery at the University of Southern California, who has performed more than 100 Whipple procedures. “There is a small group of people who tend to have persistent problems with weight loss and loss of energy and you often you are not able to pinpoint why,” he says. “But if they stay active and manage their nutrition well, there is no reason for them not to live a normal life.”
Jobs has never spoken publicly about what life is like after the Whipple, so we can’t be sure that he has any of the post-operative problems associated with the procedure. But they would go long way toward explaining why he looked the way did on Monday. And none of them would indicate that his cancer has returned, or that his capacity for work is diminished. Post-operative guides for patients suggest that there will be lifestyle changes but that they need not be drastic. And a survey of patients at Johns Hopkins Hospital found that the overall quality of life of long-term survivors of the surgery is nearly comparable to that of healthy people.
Apple was invited to comment on this story, but has so far declined.
ekw:
Jobs didn’t refuse “to allow third-party software for decades”–I’m not sure what you’re referring to here. Third-party software is software written by companies other than the computer’s manufacturer. There have been plenty of companies other than Apple, ever since the Mac was released, which have written software for the Mac. Getting third-party support was the big thing Apple wanted when the Mac was released–Apple pushed mightily for it, and eventually got enough of it to keep the Mac going.
Zenon , although I am sympathetic to your condition, it seems your want to feel as though you live a normal life has blinded you to the reality of the situation.
No offense, but after having your intestines cut up, rearranged, and sown back together, there is NO WAY you are functioning 100% as a healthy human being.
While you may still eat the same and act as you did before, that does not say you are able to do everything you could have done before-the fact that you didn’t try those foods or activities EVER, makes it impossible to determine whether you ever were or still are able to do such things.
I truly wish you were in perfect health, but it is simply IMPOSSIBLE giving the reality of the situation.
though you may feel better than shortly before the surgery (something was wrong-that’s why you had it) That does not mean the surgery returned your intestines, etc. to perfect working order-just better order than shortly before the surgery.
So, a few years ago, The Steve had a major operation on his digestive system, and now he’s skinny. Perhaps he’s restricting his calories to prevent a strain on his digestive system.
(PS: @ekw, keeping apple products minimal is a key reason for the performance of apple products (debates aside). a generic OSX will no where near run as it does now. They tried it once, it was pretty ugly at the time. Thats just too many hardware components and drivers to deal with.)
I’m disappointed that even Fortune becomes hedge fund pawns.
Dr. parekh is my dad!!!! he is the best!!!!! if you ever are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer or suffer from pancreatitis go to him because he is the best surgeon in the world!!!!! :)
While Mr. Jobs’ arrogance is well-known (it was a factor in keeping Apple from becoming the operating system for the world: his unwillingness to allow third-party software for decades), no one should be gleeful or judgmental about another human being who is suffering, for whatever reason.
Pancreatic cancer is scary and the procedures painful and dangerous. Life expectancy has gotten better over the past few years but it has never been great. But Mr. Jobs - aside from his rather unpleasant personality attributes - is a bonafide genius who helped change our world (along with Mr. Gates). It is incredibly juvenile and ignorant to wish harm to anyone. Christ tells us to love our enemies for a reason: we will need help and prayers the day we get our version of pancreatic cancer. I wish Mr. Jobs well even though I do not use his products. My father died of pancreatic cancer and I know what a horror it can be.
I had my Whipple done, not my decision, in a small town hospital, Oct 2, 2004 OH JOY !! Thank God for the folks at Okla. City Baptist Integris and Dr. Lee , I’m alive today. Steve Jobs deserves credit for surviving this surgery and trying to keep his head up. Life is too important to let slip by. This surgery DOES change your lifestyle regardless of slected sided opinions. God Bless him for his desires.
Quite a range of opinions - but remember - Stevie J said nothing for nine months about his inital illness - what makes you think he will be forthcoming now?
Think he’s a wonderful guy? Read the book “Icon” - quite informative.
Let’s resume the discussion in two years - time will tell.
By the way - if anything happens to Jobs - Apple stock will drop a whole lot more than 20% - there is no depth of management there and he is the company. Once he leaves the scene - I estimate that Apple, as an entity, will cease to exist in five years or so. Remember DEC? Compaq? They once ruled their part of the world, too. Now you don’t even know who they were.
Well- hopefully Steve is a much nicer guy as a result of his health scare - God bless him for bringing great ART to technology and not forgetting Wozniak..Jonathan.Clark@xtra.co.nz
First of all, my hope is that Mr. Jobs Cancer has not come back however, it would be likely that at some point it may.
I am not a Dr. however, my 41 year old wife, Sherrie, has this same exact Cancer, in a very advanced stage, which is rare enough that very few in the USA are truely qualified to treat it the best ways possible.
I have tried in the past to reach Mr. Jobs which has not been possible for me to do. As little as a few hundred of this type of Cancer are diagnosed in this country each year and far too many rely on local doc’s to treat them which most often leads to being treated less correctly than they should have been. Death happens sooner than later and it does NOT have to be that way.
I would hope that someone with the fame of Mr Jobs might help to champion our cause, that of a survivor of Neuroendcrine Cancer, in an effort to educate and raise money for cutting edge research which is needed.
Most who I know myself that have had surgery and had nofollow up systemic treatments, have developed Liver Mets long term…..that too can be prevented by educating the medical community.
If anyone can put me in touch with Mr. jobbs or anyone else who is known and willing to take on a face for this Cancer which very few know about, please have them contact me at michael @ isletcellcancer . com . remember, I do not want their money, we need their support in other more important ways.
My thougts and prayers to the Jobbs family.
Steve doesn’t look fantastic. He looks like he’s starving. And people are worried about his health because Apple’s stock is going to tank when he leaves the company.
Well, this story is a bit misinformed. The variant of cancer that Mr. Jobs is believed to have had (well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (ie. pancreat islet cell tumor)), occurs most frequently in the body or tail of the pancreas (where the highest concentration of islets are). As such, the usual operation to be performed is a distal pancreatectomy. This surgery does not typically require bowel resection and has a much better recovery time than does the pancreaticoduodenectomy. The Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) is usually performed to resect a carcinoma that involves the head of the pancreas. It would be somewhat less likely for Mr. Jobs’ carcinoma to have arisen in this location.
As it is common, nowadays (sadly), media write
sensational stories, feeding from people
problems.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt went even so far, that
he included graphic description of the
Whipple procedure … adding a comment that
“Nobody who [had] a Whipple is ever quite
the same”.
Excuse me?
I had the Whipple in 1998 and I have no
negative effects at all!
I have recovered quickly (after a few
months) and I am eating and functioning
as I used to.
Well, it is a part of truth in the above
statement (that I should not feel “the
same”), because I feel MUCH better than
during a few years before the surgery.
Shame on you, Mr. DeWitt. Cheap sensations.
Is it all what you can make your living from?
Zenon, California.
PS. Does everybody forget, that Mr. Jobs
attempted to cure himself (before the
surgery) with a special diet? I bet his
current diet contributes to his weight loss.
Apallling how people can be so dismissive about a person who along with Mr Gates changed the way we work and think about computers and pretty much altered how we function globally. God bless Mr Jobs and hope post operation, there is nothing we should be concerned about.
My wife had the whipple, after it she opted to have radiation and chemo just to make sure it was all removed since there is no way to know if a single cell was left behind. She has had it tough - but doing very well. http://prayforpam.com
For those who think they have a right to know about Steve’s health because he is a valuable asset, You are wrong! He may be valuable, but he is not an asset that is owned by the company. He can resign tomorrow and go fishing, if he likes. When Steve leaves Apple is nobody’s business but his own.
I hope he gets better. It doesnt matter about his company, he is a human being just like all of us. Actually budhism does teach selfishism, you worship yourself, in that religion.
Hell, I wish I looked as good as Steve (and I wish I had some of his bucks, too).
Steve Jobs and I had the same form of pancreatic cancer. We had our respective surgeries just weeks apart (mine was June 10, 2004). It’s been a rough ride through the years for the both of us, it seems.
I truly hope his cancer has not returned. The type that we shared has a 96% mortality rate in the first 18 months following diagnosis.
And to those posting mean-spirited notes here, I hope you never have to face what Mr. Jobs and I have faced. To say it’s a life-altering experience is an extreme understatement.
I’m not a fan of Jobs, or Apple products. But no one can deny that he’s changed the technology industry quite radically for many years.
I hope he recovers well…so he can go back to making crap products! (kidding!)
Interesting that the Mayo diagrams misspelled all three of the ostomies, in two cases mixing up “juje” when it should be “jeju,” and in one case leaving out the “ju” altogether. Somebody didn’t do their proofreading…
zen thinker is supposedly a Buddhist. He is about as spiritual as a turd. His meglomania and selfishness are pathetic and his anger is in no small way related directly to his own self absorbed behavior. The universe will not miss him.
My friend has pancreatitis and it makes me very nervous. It is a relief to know that it does not have to be a death sentence.
Well done, PED. Great information with an uplifting tone. You’re actually growing on me!
I truly hope that Steve Jobs gets better. I have been a fan of Mr. Jobs ever since and I truly wish all the best.
Steve: Please get better! We all need you!
Yeah, right. If God is punishing Steve, he’s not doing it very well. Why doesn’t he lower iPhone sales or change Windows Vista into a reasonable operating system? God is sitting up there with a Mac, trust me!
Looks like “Zen Thinker” needs to be more of a “Zen Doer” and work through that anger.
I wish Mr. Jobs — and Zen Thinker — all the best.
I am not an expert in computers or medicine.I know Steve Jobs is indeed a genius and as many other special people he doesn’t want to talk about his private life.We should appreciate his attitude in this era of “reality shows”.
Nobody was/is forced to buy Apple, and any investing involves risks.
Let’s wish Mr Jobs good luck and all the best and return to our lives. Maybe we’ll discover we are not so perfect as we believe .
If he had the Whipple in July of 2004, wouldn’t he already have lost this weight? Sorry, but I think something else is going on. Unfortunately it seems as though the cancer is back.
He doesn’t look THAT thin. just thinner. it is a double standard to get concerned when a pudgy man loses some extra weight but not to have concern when “normal” for actresses is well below healthy.
of course, i hope he is well, but maybe he just lost the extra weight intentionally in order to have better health after an intense health scare.
I wish Steve Jobs a good health. I beleieve he will recover and continue to lead innovation from which we enjoy in our daily lives.
I’m sure Steve Jobs will treat the important succession plan for management of his company with the same seriousness and responsibility that he has shown in taking Apple to its current heights in the world of technology. I was concerned about his appearance recently, but the explanation in this article is more than sufficient for me. I believe he has earned the right to be trusted and his privacy respected.
To Jason in Houston,
He didn’t cheat Steve W. out of anything. He offered to split the $ 750 dollars if he could help him make breakout. Steve J. simply didn’t mentioned the bonus which is what you are alluding to. If Steve W. didn’t want to do it, he could have said no. He received the $375 he agreed on to make the game. Now had Steve J. had offered something like half of any bonus and gave him any amount less then half, then yes you have an argument.
To this day Steve W doesn’t consider what Steve J. did as “wrong” or “stealing”.
Where do these idiots that post comments like the fellow below come from? I guess he was there and knows everyhing about the two Steves…and apparently his all loving god will torture you to death if people like Jason of Houston, TX decide you did something wrong without knowing the facts…I Hope Mr. Jobs is okay.
Jason in Houston- you have a PROBLEM! seek help. fondly, God
wow, god’s punishing him? whew… i though he might have had cancer.
Hey Jason, Houston, from TX!!!
God can’t punish iGod!
Go buy a zune or something!
Mr. Jobs is a great man! May God give him all the health and happiness! People like’zen thinker’ give bad name for zen! I never used Mac or ipod or iphone. Yet I can appreciate all the things Mr. Jobs acheieved and his service to humanity! Again, I pray to God to give Mr. Jobs good health for a longer service!
This was so helpful!
My spouse has a family history of pancreatic cancer and is the world’s biggest Apple fan, so we’ve been very excited to hear about Steve Jobs recovery. Seeing him look so thin recently, was a bit frightening. This article is speculation, we of course don’t know if this is why he’s lost so much weight, but it’s a huge comfort and very informative on a procedure I’ve wanted to know more about.
Steve Jobs is a terrible man, and God is punishing him. Don’t believe me? He cheated his own best friend, Woz, out of money that Steve got for Woz writing Breakout for Atari!
Whereas I agree that health is personal, when you have a company entirely defined by an iconic individual — investors have the right and need to know. When investors don’t know they have no choice but to speculate. The challenge for the Steve and Apple will be to effectively transform perception that all innovation, insight and products are in his head. It is more than transitioning leadership effectively — it is all about transitioning market and consumer perception and confidence.
I recently saw Steve Wozniak on television and I think the story should be about why does HE look so fat.
I certainly hope Jobs is well. On his biz acumen, he is a marketing genius, no doubt about it. As for developing the early Apples we can’t leave out The Woz. However, along the way and post-Woz Jobs has martialed enough talent at Apple to power a handful of computer companies and then some. The scores of innovations Jobs has stewarded over the years are almost all homeruns. I wish this guy the best of health. He has brought much to my day-to-day life that I place a lot of value on…
I have the same cancer — islet cell neuroendocrine tumor. Fortunately, I did not have to undergo a Whipple procedure. Even if the disease metastasizes beyond the pancreas to other organs (the liver is most common) and becomes incurable, as it has in my case, the disease is very slow moving and many people live with it for very long periods of time. It can cause a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms that can cause patients to lose weight.
I have no idea what might be afflicting Steve Jobs and do not care to speculate. But I am here to say that even under the worst-case scenarios for islet cell neuroendocrine tumors, it’s possible to live a long, energetic, and productive life.
To SSI, whose wife was re-diagnosed from islet cell to carcinoid: funny, I was originally diagnosed with carcinoid and was later re-diagnosed to islet cell, which is even less common than carcinoid. They are practically mirror images.
I hope steve recovers well and continues to live a long and healthy life.
Why have the ability to post comments here? It is an abuse of the technology. Non are constructive to the story, except the ones from teh people that have been through it. Stop bashing Jobs and Apple. Get your fat @ss out of the chair and get some exercise
To all those that wish Steve Jobs harm. Go back to your self isolated caves, your windozes machines, and keep your small minded thinking to yourself. This man’s medical problems have no room in the general media. Consider yourself, would you want all of yoru personal life displayed before everyone. Please do not give me the line, “famous people, do not have a private life.” That is such a general statement used by the media. Think for yourselves for a change.
He isn’t a private person. He is the head of a major corporation that has stakeholders that rely on his involvement. If he was some run of the mill CEO that could easily be replaced, it would be less of an issue. But, he isn’t. He is the public face of this company and at least to the outside, the intellectual driving force. His health IS an issue for investors. You want your shares traded publicly, this is the price.
As an Apple Mac user for 24 years I’m very happy to read this article and find out that there is indeed a very good possibility that Steve Jobs will be around for a long time to come. Like him or not, there is no denying that he revolutionized the computer industry with the original Macintosh; he proved that online music sales could be easy and profitable with iTunes and the iPod; and he’s now turning the cellphone industry on it’s head by showing how elegant and simple to use a handheld computing device can be with the iPhone.
Steve: I hope you live a long life.
I wish Mr. Steve Jobs all the best. He’s a true visionary. He has contributed many things to mankind and revolutionized many things that we take for granted these days.
As for those that say “Why do we care?” or “Stop talking about Apple and Steve Jobs already”, I ask them if you don’t care, then why did you bother to read this article. You should have ignored the title if you didn’t care.
Steve needs to immediately name a successor and restore his company to good health. He worked too hard and too long to let Apple flounder under a cloud of suspicion regarding his health.
He needs to show Wall Street that his company can innovate without him. This is exactly what happened at Microsoft when Bill Gates stepped down and let Steve Ballmer take over as CEO.
Steve Jobs is an American Icon and an interesting persona, but his detractors and Wall Street are not going to turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to his current medical situation and any intelligent person knows that Apple will keep tight lipped about it to the very end.
The fact is that Apple is a publicly traded company and the Investors in the Apple stock are in need of protection too. I believe that Steve’s medical situation should be discussed in the context of its effect on the share value of Apple and nothing more.
Hiding or glossing over the health of its CEO only creates speculation, gossip and perhaps an unfair devaluation of Apple.
Steve Jobs is a great American success story and I hope that the mainstream media will treat him with the respect and dignity and he deserves.
PED - Excellent coverage. Thank you for your thorough analysis. For someone who takes so much crap on this site, you have done an excellent job here - thank you! I am long Apple and was also taken aback immediately with Steve’s appearance last week and this information helps a great deal in relieving some of my anxiety. However, it should be noted that Apple is a great company with a lot of brilliant people working for it. I am sure that even without Steve, the long term prospects are excellent for Apple. It would be interesting to see an analysis of some of the other key members of the management team to help people understand this company better.
I was at a Pixar dinner function with Steve Jobs this weekend. Yes, he is slightly thinner, however, remains active as usual, and very much engaged as always. Let’s focus on appreciating the innovations he and his team continue to bring forward and let him lead his life without intrusion.
I think that the health of a person famous or not is a private issue and should only be expected to be known to the doctor in charge of his care and his family to the extent that he wants it revealed. Leave him alone.
What investors and stakeholders should be looking at is not what Steve’s current health condition is (although I think we all wish him well); they should be deciding whether or not they trust Steve to be able to set the stage for a smooth and successful leadership transition in the awful event that he does take a turn for the worse. Then they should be taking whatever action they feel is appropriate.
lmao!!
he looks like he’s got the AIDS.
you know the tom hanks character in that movie philadelphia…
he looks just like that as far as i can tell.
CNN..pleaseeee. This should not be front page news.
Why can’t these nosey people just leave this man alone and let him experience his health concerns in private. Some things are too personal too share with the whole world!
Was Carcinoid ruled out when Mr. Jobs was diagnosed? My wife was originally diagnosed with pancreatic islet cell carcinoma at M. D. Anderson hospital in Houston, TX and was later found to have Carcinoid, (an extremely rare tumor which is treated far differently and successfully that islet cell carcinoma).
“Zen Thinker” your comment are of a
jealous little mind who wishes to be
God and pronounce we little Humans
into the yay or nay of continued
life on planet earth.
You need to meditate and not expect
so much from life ,you need a Psychiatrist,but perhaps you work for
Dell or Microsoft to wish Steve Jobs
dead.
We love you Steve. Thanks for your continued work in the industry. You are truly a renaissance man.
I first entered the world of MAC back in 1987 when Desktop Publishing was in it’s infancy (still use one today and still hate the PC). After implementing your computer system (the old Apple “square box”), I saved my company (Peat Marwick)$500,000 in ad expenses over a 5-year period.
Whatever is happening healthwise, you have our prayers - always. Fight the good fight. We need you in this world.
I wish Mr. Jobs the very best.
I am appalled by the insensitivity of people. It is truly disheartening that anyone would wish ill-will on another human being.
Best of luck and quick recovery to Steve Jobs - he is a great guy.
I had a Whipple done in Oct 07, and am now only getting back to work. After seeing a nutritionist my quality of life has immensly improved, the problems associated with the Whipple had subsided. Totally understand his weight loss, as I am down 25 lbs since the surgery. And you are right about not being the same after that surgery!
It is truly a sad state of affairs that whenever a person in the public eye falls ill, so many people feel the need to expose the side of them that’s mean, petty and resentful… The question is, why? The comment from the so called “Zen Thinker” (Zen being as far out of his/her reach as Earth is from the Sun) is absolutely shameful and reprehensible. I am sending my best and heartfelt wishes to Mr. Jobs for a full and speedy recovery.
An article on what some see as a significant weight loss in an already fit man is met with a plethora of comments from Apple product quality, Jobs spirituality, his disparaging remarks about his demeanor, to some wishing he doesn’t have a re-occurrence of cancer. What I really appreciate are comments ridiculing his lack of spirituality from people …. well pointing out his flaws real or perceived is like the old saying - like the pot calling the frying pan black.
For all you people who worry about the health of Steve Jobs, I have the following comment suggestion: Never base your opinion of and investment in a company on one person. No one is garaunteed any amount of time on this planet. Jobs could be dead tomorrow from illness, cancer, a heart attack, a car accident, a plane crash, a terrorist bomb, ….
I respect Jobs for the company he helped create. I wish him the best in this life. But if Apple can’t survive without him, as many seem to suggest, then no one should own the stock. The risk is far too large.
With the universal passion for miniaturisation in consumer electronics and the waif-like figures of size 00 fashion models, it no surprise that in his latest incarnation Jobs appears with the frame of a lean and lithe snow leopard, in anticipation of the release of Apple’s next operating system of the same name.
If there can be any doubt of the willingness of fashionados to undergo surgery to achieve their desired form, you only have to look at the women who will gladly have a toe or two removed so as to be able to slip into a pair of Jimmy Choos.
Jobs’ obsession with aesthetics is unparalleled.
Peter from San Francisco - Don’t be such a dork. If you actually read ALL of Joanne Davidson’s post, you would have read that she was simply reposting a post that she had seen on a WSJ blog. While a questionable practice at times, she clearly identified the source as not being her own work.
As for Mr. Jobs, I hope his health improves, but could care less about his company. Having worked with Apple products since the mid 80s, I’ve watched it oscillate between greatness and garbage so many times that I’ve lost interest. It will be in the dumps again in due time…
it’s all about money right? Just think for a second how you will feel if instead of Jobs it was you or your father or your son the one who was ill. Would you really care about the shareholders? Jobs is a fine human being that has helped make this a better world and most of you only think about the money you may lose. Can you compare to his greatness? How you done something great? You should be ashamed of yourself! I wish Jobs the best because the world need more people like him. Many of us have not done a single thing to improve our planet but we are very good at commenting on how others people should lead their lives. If you are so afraid that you may lose money on Apple then just take it out and put it in another company. Talking about the possible death of any human being and its effect on our pocket is simple CRUEL. Is that what he deserves to get after all he has done?
After reading all the comments I went back and looked at a similarly posed photo of Jobs at the January 2008 conference. It is only six months and sadly the difference is striking. Of course I hope for his well being.
However as a stock holder there is added concern that he has not seemed to be grooming anyone else to eventually replace him. I also do not think that Apple could ever be as great without his extraordinary eye for design.
Jobs is supposedly a Buddhist. He is about as spiritual as a turd. His meglomania and selfishness are pathetic and his illness is in no small way related directly to his own self absorbed behavior. The universe will not miss him.
What a thoroughly despicable human being you are, J Harvey. You appear more interested in stock prices than the health of another human being, while trying to paint Jobs as the bad guy while you ghoolishly comment. Apple have already come out and said what was wrong with Jobs — on the record. To me he looks very lean, but is maybe having dietary problems associated with ongoing long term care after this kind of operation. The kind of cancer he had is curable — and I know this because my father-in-law suffered and died from the more prevalent form of pancreatic cancer and I spend months reviewing the options. If you’ve seen someone suffer and die from it, you wouldn’t be such a nasty piece of work.
You ask for full disclosure. Do you really think a prognosis such as ‘Jobs has around 12 months to live’, for example, benefits anyone besides greedy investors? How do you know Jobs isn’t quietly investing in cancer research? Because he hasn’t done a press release with Nelson Mandela?
If we’re going to start judging CEO and corporate leaders, the constantly odd behavior of sweaty, obese Steve Ballmer should have shareholders asking for an intervention. And what about the President, who can barely string a sentence together, shouldn’t we be worried about him?
Clearly, J Harvey, you also need to seek some medical advice. You wrote point 1. bus never went on to point 2. You bizarrely mention Jim jones. Your sentences show clear patterns of abnormal brain function. I suggest we all downgrade J Harvey to sell, sell sell!
And congratulations to Fortune for the least sleazy coverage of ‘Jobs looks thin’. Before you pat yourselves on the back, that’s not a compliment.
No one has mentioned the selfish behavior which IS Steve Jobs. 1. His backdating stock to benefit hims holdings in Apple (was it not a Billion $. What is he doing to help others with the same health issue. Look at those who proudly discuss their health issues and donate substantial amounts of money to advance the research so other may benefit. This guy is sooo arrogant day in and day out. And some of you defend his right to keep his health a secret from investors in a public company. No wonder the unethical, immoral and at times illegal behavior of CEO’s and Wall Street is so prevasive. Show me the money! Its all about GREED not right or wrong. WE have allowed this great country to be torn from our grasp. Sharholders wake up! You have a right to know -full disclosure, force the issue. But as long as the stock goes up shareholders remain complicit. Hey remember a guy named Jim Jones? No, that was too long ago.
I would like to wish Mr. Jobs a quick and complete recovery from whatever ailment he may have. He is a remarkable inventor and visionary who helped mankind in its quest to evolve through technology and he’s done it with a high degree of grace and style. Steve Jobs is Apple and he is irreplaceable. Apple should be more forthright in keeping shareholders informed regardless of its potential effect on the stock price.
It is a shame that anyone should be subject to this kind of public speculation regarding their health.
I would buy Apple Stock right now,
if I had any money.
I’m hoping Steve Jobs is just having a reaction to this very serious operation. From looking at these excellent drawings, it looks to me like this operation is similar a gastric by-pass procedure, where, it’s probably not unusual for this sort of thing to happen. I expect, he will make a full recovery.
Jobs’ health may be your right to speculate about, you have NO right to know. Dream on. If you feel your investments are affected by his health, if you need to believe that he will live forever, or at least for the next 10 years, in order for your investment strategy to pan out, bully for you. If your precious economic system depends on someone perhaps on his death bed contravening his own personal interests for some purported moral obligation to your system, then your system is doomed.
Jobs’ health status is: Human. He will die someday. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in 10 years. GET OVER IT.
To “Joanne Davidson”
Steve Jobs may be very sick but not as sick as you for manufacturing such a contemptible lie. You’re phony concern gives you away, “I hope there’s not some kind of cover up going on.” Oh really? More likely you’re indifferent to the existence of a cover up, as long you can make people think there’s one.
Sadly, maybe this “one” solitary comment left on the Wall St. Journal Business Technology Blog on Monday of the past week will end the debate on whether or not SJ’s cancer has returned?
Comment by HE HAS CANCER AGAIN - June 10, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I have friends who work at the company, it is very sad. I heard this about a month ago,
that he was very sick and undergoing treatment. A cold or flu does not make you loose
25 pounds. I just hope that there is not some kind of cover up going on. His departure
one way or any other would have a large impact on that company. Please see this link to that comment:
http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/06/10/steve-jobss-appearance-grabs-notice-not-just-the-iphone/?mod=googlenews_wsj#comment-27751
ex ped: This is from an anonymous poster who claims to have second-hand information and offers no corroboration. It could be true. It could be rumor. It could be disinformation.
There’s absolutely no room in journalism for an article with such bad taste.
Why does every article on the internet have to have a comment section after it now? This is Fortune, not some blog for pity’s sake.
Phillp Elmer DeWitt, Fortune and humanity have reached an all time low with this writing. It is totally unacceptable to perpetuate this sick fascination with Job’s health. I sure home the Democrats don’t have to stoop so low in their agenda against McCain. Pathetic. Truly and utterly pathetic.
So this all points to a statistical probability analysis. If Steve’s health falters, the stock, according to one of the comments, will fall another 14-15%. If Steve lives, the stock goes up, say, 50-150%.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist, otherwise known as a “short”?
I wish Mr. Jobs only the quickest and least stressful recovery. May he fully recover from whatever ails him. We really need him as a balance in this world against the forces from Redmond.
Who cares about Steve Jobs’ health.
He’s no one I know.
Steve Jobs’ health status ceases to be a purely personal issue because of the position he holds. If Apple were a privately held company, then yes. But shareholders must know his health status because of the impact it has on company value. Just as US citizens must know the health status of the President of the United States (which is publicly disclosed) because of the impact it has.
The fact that the company has not had a physician who has examined Steve Jobs make a statement as to his health, but instead chose a PR person who is not a medical expert is unfortunately suspect.
Steve Jobs IS APPLE. It is his eye, coupled with his creative instinct that is the controlling force behind everything Mac. Rembrandt had students who painted in the (style) ’school of Rembrandt’ but hey, they were no Rembrandt!
I wish him well and hope that all this speculation is for nothing.
My mom, 72, had the Whipple procedure and it saved her life. She weighed about 150 lbs before the procedure. She dropped down to 100.3 lbs within 6 months. It has been 15 months since the life saving operation and she is now at 112 lbs. At 5′2″, my mother was considered overweight at 150 lbs, but now she is within a healthy weight range. She takes Protonix daily to help with her g.e.r.d., maintains a healthy diet, and visits her doctor every 3 months for follow up. It has changed her life as well as our family. She is here today because of the Whipple, a very skilled Dr. Gary Vitale, and her will to live.
The people who say that this is Steve’s own business need to stop being so naive.
When Steve Jobs accounts for 20% of a company’s value, his health is everyone business. His health is the business of the millions of people who are invested in Apple through stock, mutual funds and pension plans. If Steve kicked the bucket tomorrow, billions of dollars would be lost.
It is inappropriate for him to hide his health issues when he is tied so tightly to the company he operates.
If you are a shareholder of Apple, Jobs’ health is your business. If something happens to him, the shares will take a 20% hit, at least.
Small startup companies usually have key man insurance policies for their key executives (usually only for a few million bucks). Can Apple take a key man policy on Jobs for a 20 billion? I don’t think so.
No wonder I-phone cut its price suddenly.
Sell more before stock crash?
I shall wish him well and after that mind my own damn business.
Isn’t SJ some type some type of vegetarian in that he doesn’t red meat or chicken?
This is the only truly useful article I’ve read on this subject. The full description of the Whipple explains a lot.
For our skeptical surgeon friend, here is a link to Steve Job’s Stanford commencement address where Steve himself tells the audience that his cancer was a rare, more treatable, type.
http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/itunes.stanford.edu.1292047512?i=1314990017
Granted, he doesn’t name the specific type, but it is clear that he did not have an adenocarcinoma.
PLEASE respect Mr. Jobs’ privacy. Can we leave him alone about his health issues.
Great post. I remember when people were freaking out about Steve’s appearance back in 2006. He looks pretty much the same today. Just Google for “steve jobs thin” and you can find someone’s blog post that shows his picture from WWDC 2006, and then compare it to his recent appearance.
Not much difference, other than he’s shaved his beard and aged two years. If anything, his cheeks look a little less gaunt now.
Also, I followed your link to the videos of his keynotes, and though he seems to have put on a little weight during 2007, compared to six months ago I can’t really tell a difference.
This Whipple procedure explains a lot. Thanks again.
David Adams said:
“Unfortunately on the website of the University of Southern California Department of Surgery, Center for Pancreatic and Biliary Diseases who you quoted in your article also says …’the overall survival after the whipple operation for pancreatic adenocarcinoma is about 20% at five years after surgery. Patients without spread of cancer into their lymph nodes may have up to a 40% survival. The actuarial survival is less than 5% at five years for patients patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma who are treated with chemotherapy alone.’ Steve Jobs put off his operation for 9 months giving the cancer additional time to spread.”
You need to re-read PED’s article again. Steve Jobs didn’t have the most common kind of pancreatic cancer - adenocarcinoma - but the extremely rare islet cell neuroendocrine tumor that doesn’t need radiation or chemo. If he didn’t need radiation or chemo, it sounds like the type of tumor that doesn’t metastasize via the lymph nodes, otherwise he would’ve at least received chemo, wouldn’t he?
D-wit has always been a good journalist, stuck in a suckhole job. It can’t be easy to write constant articles about a single firm, for christsake.
Some folks here point out that the article is well researched, and genuinely informative. Sure, they generally are. It is just that most of the time, there isn’t much real information for him to get hold of. Apple are famous for secrecy and a lot of what corporations do is hell boring.
I am just glad he is prepared to waste his life and considerable talents serving me up my daily dose of Apple gossip. Because I am a sad human being who likes that sort of thing. But dude never sucked as a journalist. Indeed that is probably why he is stuck on the Apple desk, over in the corner. If he was in the political section, Bush would be awaiting the gallows.
I’ve been worried since the WWDC keynote and have read only the short’s reports on Jobs. Nice to get some real research and facts so we can all make our own minds up. Its not over by a long shot but at lest I have a better grip on Steve’s plausable condition. We’ll all know soon enough if it all turns bad.Thanks PED!
Apple CEO health problem can be taken care by himself and his doctor.
Only the recent company stock flutuate up and down all the time does make him worry and that is the main point to affect his health.
Why there are no loyal investers to show him some respect that we all agree his work, and keep his company market capital grow steadly.
This is much better then just to mention, describe and discuss his cancer health problem all the time.
Everybody need support, how, buy Apple stock, that is the best way to express your feeling.
I am a general surgeon and I must say i am also skeptical that this tumor was endocrine and not exocrine. Usually a Whipple is reserved for exocrine (adenocarcinoma) and islet cell tumors of the head of the pancreas are enucleated. Also what type of islet cell tumor was it: insulinoma, glucagonoma or what? They each are treated differently and have different rates of recurrence and different prognosis.
ex ped: I’ll see if I can find out what kind it was.
An individual’s health is purely a personal issue. If that individual feels that it is unecessary not to provide disclosure it is well accepted by medical ethics and by federal statute that that individual’s rights are upheld. Your body is your body and NO ONE has any rights to take that away from you. We do however have a moral obligation to take the best possible care of our own machinery. I trust that Steve Jobs is doing what he is supposed to do to fullfil that obligation.
Someone looks ill that the audience adores and author who writes the article is suddenly good journalist.
His journalism has always been good; proof being he doesn’t pander to the fanboy audience that makes up most of his readership.
I certainly hope Jobs the best of health and the longest of lifes even if it is for selfish reasons. It seems his bout with cancer coincides with the huge increase in Job’s unmatched empathy for the end users of his products. Now we are seeing the beginnings of computers that really can make life better for everybody.
Fyi… Jobs was born to his biological parents, Joanne Carole Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali — a graduate student from Syria who became a political science professor.
Does “anyone” really know what happened to his father or mother? If so, that could shed quite a bit of light onto Steve’s general & genetic health going forward.
It’s great to know more about the Whipple procedure, but over the long term it’s more important to figure out what happen to his Mother and Father.
My 2¢
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I have a good friend who a few years ago had the whipple procedure to remove a non-malignancy on the pancreas. She had a long recover and is now quite healthy but her eating habits and weight have changed permanently. She lost more than 10% of her weight and avoids large meals, fatty foods, etc. Her energy level never returned to pre-surgery levels but she is still quite active and healthy. Steve Job’s appearance was a bit shocking but seems consistent with someone who has this procedure. Additionally, Steve is known to have an “odd” diet which would contribute to his difficulty keeping weight on post Whipple. We wish him the best and many more years developing great products.
I don’t believe anything nefarious is going on, and the Apple spokesperson is being straight with us. We all hope Steve Jobs will be with us for a long, long time. He’s a true visionary and innovator we’ve benefited from many times over.
I think he has diabetes. When I got diagnosed with diabetes last year, I lost 10% or more of my weight and looked really really thin. When I saw Steve Jobs like this, it reminded me of myself. A surgery to the pancreas makes this a high possibility.
So when a CEO gets sick, you stress him out by selling his company’s stock even though the company is outperforming. How nice of you.
A+ PED. First rate journalism on a topic of great concern to many people.
This is a very reasoned look at the “issue” of Jobs’ apparent weight loss. My mother died of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas 4 years ago. Unfortunately, she was not a candidate for the Whipple and may not have had the surgery even if she was, as it is a very extensive surgery with a rather long recovery period. My mother was 74 when she finally succumbed to the cancer. Steve Jobs was indeed very “lucky” to have the rarer and less devastating form of pancreatic cancer and able to treat it with surgery. Even though he probably won’t ever be completely out of danger and could suffer a recurrence of cancer, he could also live a relatively long life with only minor complications.
Having had just my gall bladder removed several years ago due to stones, I can tell you any surgery that changes your digestive system can affect you in ways you can’t imagine - from excessive diarrhea to painful constipation to an inability to digest certain foods. Often it takes years for the body to adjust to the new situation and sometimes it never completely adjusts.
Also, as mentioned in the article, there is increased risk of diabetes associated with the surgery. As anyone with diabetes can attest, regulation of diet and exercise is essential to living successfully with diabetes (and to avoiding becoming diabetic in the first place).
I, myself, have recently lost a significant amount of weight on advice of my doctor and to compare photos of me last year to this, one could assume I’d been sick. The exact opposite is the case, as I haven’t been this healthy in 10 years. Such could be the case for Steve Jobs. He might simply be regulating his weight.
For more information and to donate to pancreatic cancer research, please visit http://www.lustgarten.org or http://www.pancreatic.org or http://www.pancan.org.
Elmer De Witt-I’ve given you shit in the past for your unfounded and biased writing - I think you now deserve a lot of credit for your looking into some facts and not joining or succumbing to the ugly gossip and hip shot rumors that manipulate the markets. You have redeemed some of the bad karma you rightfully earned yourself in the past, I hope you continue to earn more respect by factual and good investigative reporting - maybe you’ll even do something to help us all regain some respect for reporters…
Good on you man.
I wish these people would stop the garbage. Maybe they’re short on Apple or something.
Apple’s spokesman said it was just a bug and not cancer. Under SEC rules, knowingly lying about a material matter is a felony. So if you have evidence that they’re lying, present it. Otherwise, leave the garbage ‘reporting’ to the National Enquirer.
thank you for sharing you knowledge, in such professional way,I’m glad to know that someone writes History about Mr jobs,health with all details and no whit the harm that other people try to inflict,no knowing how disrupted their comments can be when you are dealing with somebody else life.thanks again.
Excellent article, PED. This is the type of in-depth reporting that differentiates Fortune’s blog from the rest of the rumor-mongering Apple bloggerati.
Cheers.
Finally a good article from PED instead of the usual dribble.
Maybe you should try this hard on ALL of your articles.
Unfortunately on the website of the University of Southern California Department of Surgery, Center for Pancreatic and Biliary Diseases who you quoted in your article also says …”the overall survival after the whipple operation for pancreatic adenocarcinoma is about 20% at five years after surgery. Patients without spread of cancer into their lymph nodes may have up to a 40% survival. The actuarial survival is less than 5% at five years for patients patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma who are treated with chemotherapy alone.” Steve Jobs put off his operation for 9 months giving the cancer additional time to spread. Source:http://www.surgery.usc.edu/divisions/tumor/pancreasdiseases/web%20pages/pancreas%20resection/whipple%20operation.html
Another doctor who has seen the photos of Steve Jobs on Monday said:
As a physician who’s seen lots of sick people, I question whether he just has “a bug.” He has what’s called temporal wasting, where the muscle tissue at the temples get reabsorbed. This usually happens with significant malnutrition, cancer, or other serious illnesses. (You can see it in advanced age as well). Who knows, but he doesn’t just look like someone who had a stomach bug for a week or so.
Source: http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/06/apple-says-stev.html
The outlook I am afraid is not good given the medical statistics.
ex ped: Jobs did NOT have pancreatic adenocarcinoma. He said it and I have it from another source as well. So the stats you quote in the first graph do not apply.
seems a plausible explanation, but if that was the case, why not simply explain it? its no more an invasion of jobs’ privacy than our viewing him in his emaciated state which he voluntarily allowed
if it is true that the islet cell tumor was malignant, then the chance (likelihood on average) that it metastasized to another organ (most commonly the liver) is certainly another possibility
that the company will not specifically disclaimer the current existence of cancer or any other serious health problem (and with a history of feeling there is no legal liability to NOT do so) leaves the questions surrounding jobs skeletal looks to linger (and be acted upon by uncertain and justifiably nervous shareholders)
Of course speculative, but nonetheless the best thing I’ve ever read here
Finally, a forthright explanation of what MAY be going on other than “oh my God he’s dying” crap.
Sure the guy is a genius, and yes he carries a lot of weight for the future of Apple and its current stock price, but you can also bet your butt he is smart enough to surround himself with others of like mind and vision!
Thanks Philip for doing some of the homework the rest of the press should be doing!
Finally, some great reporting of real facts from real research on Steve’s health.
Great job on the article. This makes sense. All the articles about his poor health have been irresponsible. This is the first one that has been researched.
Thanks, PED. So….can we now all get back to AAPL’s earnings potential?
Will AAPL sell 1 million iPhones worldwide on the weekend of July 11-13?
If I understand correctly, a CEO is an employee of the company, and an asset is property of the company. As common as it is to praise employees for being “assets to the company”, isn’t that verbiage actually an endorsement of slavery?
I find it sad and repulsive that shareholders can sit on their behinds collecting money, without making any tangible contribution to society, and then have the nerve to try to shame innovators like Jobs for not behaving like subservient cash cows.
Dear shareholders: you’ve already got your hot tubs. Maybe if you go sit in them for a while, you can wash off the stench of being such useless scumbags.