“Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs has had successful surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, the company’s co-founder told employees in a company-wide e-mail on Sunday that was made available to Reuters,” Duncan Martell reports for Reuters.
“Jobs, 49, wrote in the e-mail sent from his hospital bed that he plans to return to work in September after recuperating in August. In his absence, Tim Cook, head of worldwide sales and operations, will run the Cupertino, California-based company, maker of the Macintosh computer and popular iPod portable digital music player,” Martell reports.
“‘This weekend I underwent a successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from my pancreas,’ Jobs wrote in the e-mail. ‘I had a very rare form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, which represents about 1 percent of the total cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed each year, and can be cured by surgical removal if diagnosed in time (mine was).’ He added that he ‘will not require any chemotherapy or radiation treatments,'” Martell reports. Full article here.
The full text of Steve Jobs’ email to Apple Computer, Inc. employees:
Team,
I have some personal news that I need to share with you, and I wanted you to hear it directly from me.
This weekend I underwent a successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from my pancreas. I had a very rare form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, which represents about 1 percent of the total cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed each year, and can be cured by surgical removal if diagnosed in time (mine was). I will not require any chemotherapy or radiation treatments.
The far more common form of pancreatic cancer is called adenocarcinoma, which is currently not curable and usually carries a life expectancy of around one year after diagnosis. I mention this because when one hears “pancreatic cancer” (or Googles it), one immediately encounters this far more common and deadly form, which, thank god, is not what I had.
I will be recuperating during the month of August, and expect to return to work in September. While I’m out, I’ve asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, so we shouldn’t miss a beat. I’m sure I’ll be calling some of you way too much in August, and I look forward to seeing you in September.
Steve
PS: I’m sending this from my hospital bed using my 17-inch PowerBook and an Airport Express.
MacDailyNews Take: Get well soon, Steve!
Related MacDailyNews article:
What happens when Steve Jobs dies? – August 20, 2003
Get Well soon steve!!!
Hope september Steve back to work with new brilliant idea
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I wish him well. Cancer is nothing to play with.
Hopefully Jobs will come back from surgery and perform even better – like Lance Armstrong has done since his amazing recovery from testicular cancer.
Biomedical research only becomes important to people when a life-threatening disease affects someone close to us and we demand answers or cures, but then is usually forgotten for more important matters. You can’t simply demand a cure for todays problem- it takes a sustained effort. Think about your priorities now.
Get well soon Steve! Relax and enjoy your month off
Grandpa…
What?
sending all the positives energy
FYI:
Surg Clin North Am. 2001 Jun;81(3):527-42.
Islet cell tumors of the pancreas: the medical oncologist’s perspective.
Islet cell tumors of the pancreas are rare, indolent, neuroendocrine tumors. Approximately 50% of the patients diagnosed with these tumors present with symptoms related to various biologically active hormones that are secreted by these neoplasms. Currently, the only curative treatment for islet cell tumors is complete surgical resection. Management of metastatic disease is conservative. Initial treatment of these tumors includes expectant observation and medical management of symptoms with clinical monitoring and serial CT scans to assess tumor growth. Patients with rapidly progressive disease, with local symptoms caused by tumor bulk, or with uncontrolled symptoms related to hormone secretion require more aggressive medical or surgical intervention. The somatostatin analogue octreotide may help control hormone secretion and stabilize tumor growth. Patients refractory to octreotide with tumor predominantly in the liver are potential candidates for mechanical ablative techniques, such as hepatic arterial embolization. Radiofrequency ablation and cryosurgical techniques may also be useful, although specific data are limited. Surgical resection of metastatic disease may offer palliative relief of symptoms related to hormone secretion in carefully selected patients. Chemotherapy may be used for palliation when ablative techniques have failed or when significant extrahepatic disease is present. Streptozicin-based combinations remain the first line standard, but major objective responses are less common than had been previously thought. Because of the overall modest success of current chemotherapeutic regimens, patients with advanced disease in need of treatment should be encouraged to enroll in clinical trials testing newer antineoplastic agents or newer treatment strategies.
Wow, Steve is human after all (sorry to hear it). Rest, dude, and come back to Apple invigorated!
P.S. Love that PB 17″!!! (Got one too.)
Steve has looked a little ‘skinny’ in his latest public appearances. I guess now we know why…
Man, i wish my airport express worked (to extend the range of my D-Link router…)
Unless someone knows how / can tell me how – i’m afraid I have no use of my airport express 🙁
theloniusMac: Sorry if that came across as vague. The technical abstract I posted says that Steve and his doctors are pursuing the appropriate course of action and lets hope this will cure his disease. However, if the cancer spreads, the author suggests that clinical trails of new drugs might be the only hope for him. I am a cancer researcher who uses Macs in my research an who is saddened by the anti-science policies of the Bush administration towards biomedical (National Institutes of Health) research. This statement is supported by a letter from 48 Nobel Prize winning scientists who have come out strongly against Bush. I think most (not all) people who read this forum might feel the same way as I, that nothing should hold back potential cures for people like Steve, our friends, or family members.
While Steve Jobs has been inventing & re-inventing the role of the computer in our lives I have been working in the Medical field. No matter the kind, type or outlook, the diagnosis and treatment of Cancer causes most people to re-evaluate their lives and all that is around them. No prediction is being made, but a shift in values and priorities is many times the result of such an experience.
If you are out there, I wish you a speedy recovery and return to health and comfort.
I hope he recovers soon. I wonder if his diet played a part in developing the curable kind of pancreas cancer that he had. I am no doctor or researcher but when a vegetarian gets a rare kind of cancer I do see a connection.
Who will be the keynote speaker in Paris if Steve will be recuperating?
Our prayers of wellness are with you, Steve, and others who are ailing.
Get well soon Steve.
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Nothing to do but grin and bear it, Stevie — easy to do when you’ve got no choice. Hope the surgery removed the sucker completely. Your comment about not requiring radiation or chemo is great news — you don’t want to go there if you don’t need to. (Sometimes you don’t want to go there when you need to either.)
Resist the temptation to get busy early on and get some rest instead. When was the last time you had a good break? Having a break doesn’t mean you’ve got to put your brain in neutral — leave the nitty gritty to others and consider the future of the post OS X world in the back of your mind before going to sleep. A few things will suggest themselves….
I’m sure that every Mac user wishes you all the best for a speedy recovery and a long, healthy, and happy life. Now shut that 17-inch PB and take it easy. And shut the door on those unwelcome visitors too. Better yet, get someone else to screen and discourage them diplomatically.
Hey Steve, forget about Macs, iPods and computers for a while.
Take a break and get well soon!!!
We’ll still be here
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Depending on how much REAL lap time he gets, perhaps SJ will come away with an incentive to more quickly develop PowerBooks that run substantially cooler than they do now.
Is this also a hint as to who may take over Apple if Mr. Steve leaves us? ((Hopefully, though, not for many years.)
Get well- for the long-term.
I have a question if anyone could answer. I was wondering can you only charge the iPod through the computer or can you also charge it through the home wall outlet??
Steve’s centre of emotions, could not handle his emotions…
Go and relax man !
Fortunately, Steve won’t require radiation or chemotherapy.
He can also take some comfort in that one of the latest and most sophisticated radiation treatment computer planning platforms switched a little over a year ago to a Mac G5 based system.
(http://www.nomos.com/page?id=1442)
Get well soon – we need more great tools like OS X and the G5!
Beware of letting salesmen run a business Steve – innovation suffers. You said it yourself.
Get well soon. May Steve Jobs live long enough for Apple to come to the top, leading the world into the “proper” technological future we all desire. See ya there.
What’s with the tacky bit at the end about sending it from his laptop, etc?
That is completely wanky.
This actually begs me to ask, is this for real? I mean who in their right mind puts a comment like that at the end of a company wide email? I guess from a feel good point of view, yes, but stil…..
And no, I’m not being heartless, so please don’t see my comments as that.
A little medical scare does wonders for the soul.
You’ll be right mate.
Get well
My best wishes for Steve’s recovery and continued health. I’m certain he and his family are relieved at the outcome.
Peter W:
You can charge it from the wall or from the computer.
Get well soon Steve.
Get Well Soon Steve. Sending all our love from jolly England.
Gulp!
Wishing you a speedy and full recovery.
The world would be a lesser place without you Steve.
Take Care and Get Well Soon!!
Jack in Yokohama
What a shock that Steve can get ill. I hope he gets well soon.
What a shock that Steve can get ill. I hope he gets well soon.
Relax during this time off, Steve… you deserve it. I’m sure you’re looking forward to great health in a few short weeks.
Get well soon Steve… The world would be a duller and greyer place without you!
All our love, Steve. We’re looking forward to the next great things from you and Apple.
All the cute nurses are lining up to give Stevie a sponge bath. Hands off that joystick, girls! Give the man a break!
Once in a while. Only — I mean.
Hey Steve get well!!!!!!! im just wondering about the keynote in paris expo :/ iMac G5 😀
Dang rock stars get all the fun!
birdseed,
It is called sense of humor…
I actually loved that joke !
Best wishes for the man who saved Apple! Get well soon and keep up the good work.
Hey Steve!
If you can beat this cancer, you’ll definitely beat the M$ cancer and heal the world
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Get well soon, buddy.
Get well soon, Steve. Our prayers are with you and other ailling.
Best wishes to you and your beloved ones.
Steve will no doubt be inspired to develop some kind of software/hardware which will benefit cancer research. Look for iCure in the coming months!
Get well, Tiger.
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Maybe he has a soul.
nah, Sputkik doesn’t have his soul any more – he sold it.
Is it time for a successor to Steve Jobs?
I think Apple needs to consider it. Others do, too.
http://www.mac360.com/index.php/mac360/more/change_at_the_top_is_it_time_for_a_successor_to_steve_jobs/
talk about the ultimate “One More Thing” from SJ… This news totally caught me off guard. Thanks for letting us know it looks like everything will be okay.
Get well soon, SJ!!
Although he may not be the one to introduce the new iMac G5 in Paris, I am still going to get one!!!! Get well soon!! Steve!
What a shock.
All the best for a swift recooperation Steve. Take-care from those of us down-under!
Get well soon, Steve. Take the time off that you need.
A small, non-working, vacation to that place (close by) that you wanted to go to. [Sonoma, Solvang, SantaCruz?]
I wonder where he had the surgery? I live in Rochester, MN home of Mayo Clinic. I work 2 blocks away!! I would be happy to keep him company!!
Get well soon Steve!
I wonder where he had the surgery? I live in Rochester, MN home of Mayo Clinic. I work 2 blocks away!! I would be happy to keep him company!!
Get well soon Steve!
FYI– Steve isn’t reading this. Your get well comments are cyberspace vapor.
I personally hope Steve makes a swift and full recovery.
Steve, in the unlikely event that you might actually read this, “GET WELL SOON!!!”
To “I Made a Poop”,
=P
Moo.
Is it time for a successor to Steve Jobs?
No. Consider some compassion.
Steve isn’t reading this. Your get well comments are cyberspace vapor.
Duh. It’s the spirit that matters.
Spirit, shmirit– all you’re doing is telling a server to “get well soon”. Quit being a cheap ass and mail the guy a card if you’re all that sincere.
Steve reads MDN!
No, seriously, he does.
Get well soon, SJ!
get well soon : )
Wow, this kind of news really calls attention to the fragile nature of the human condition.
You know, we all love and defend Apple’s products zealously, we argue over favorite car brands, beers, political candidates, and other silly things and you know what ? None of it really matters in the grand scheme of things. Without life, love, family, and good health, we really have nothing at all.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still continue to support my favorite computer company for their great products, but right now my thoughts and prayers are with Steve.
Steve, if you happen to read this, get well soon buddy. I’ll make a toast of two pints of Guinness to your continued good health … Sl�inte.
Get well dad!
get well soon, steve hope your fealing insanely great again quickly
Just wanted to post a note…
The type of cancer Mr. Jobs has is extremely rare.
Recently, my family was jarred by the news of Steve Jobs’ email about his surgery. This was news closer to my family…
Not only are we hardcore Mac people (since the beginning)…but 2 years ago my father was diagnosed with exactly the same type of rare pancreatic cancer our favorite CEO has.
My family lives in Scottsdale, AZ and there is also a Mayo Clinic here. We were lucky enough for him to have his surgery at the newer Mayo Hospital here in Scottsdale…performed by the best in the world.
Unfortunately, the surgery was not a success. The diagnosis came too late…by many years. The outlook is uncertain at this point (one day at a time) but they were not able to remove the cancer.
The human condition IS fragile, and I wanted to say, even though I don’t know you…I (and my family) may be a little closer to you. The human condition may be fragile, but it is also resilient! And Steve you are proof of that!
Get well soon, we love you Steve!
-Eric
Hello Steve,
I have pancreatic surgery as well. No Chemo or radiation was needed afterwards. I had a 14 hour surgery at Memorial Slone Kettering. God is my recovery slow, but I’m thankful I can complain about it. Cancer does’nt care who it strikes. We have so much to live for. Lets do good things with our life. We got a bonus, did’nt we. Hang in there Steve. My surgery was 4/20/04 and I’m progressing every day. God Bless you. Only we understand. It’s a club I never wanted to apply to. lol. Kind Regards, Linda