“Jobs’s health is occasionally the topic of chatter because he was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer four years ago, for which he underwent surgery that Apple said was successful. (Apple didn’t disclose that Jobs had been ill until after he was on the mend.) Mr. Jobs is also widely considered nearly irreplaceable at Apple, where he has been the architect of a dramatic resurgence in the company’s fortunes over the past decade,” Wingfield reports. “Fortunately for Apple, no replacement is needed.”
Full article here.
[Attribution: AppleInsider. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “MacVicta” for the heads up.]
Excellent news! Get well soon, Mr. Jobs!
The only thing that makes me dispute Apple’s line on this is the remark about antibiotics.
Antibiotics have no effect on “common bugs” like colds flu etc. If he needs antibiotics and hasn’t cut himself or anything then they can only be for something fairly severe like a chest infection.
Skinny old men *do* sometimes die from chest infections.
The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes into the small intestine through a tube called the pancreatic duct. These enzymes help digest fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in food.
Having had his affected, it’s pretty common that he has had severe weight loss. My brother used to be pretty chubby before he suffered from a pancreatic illness, now he is skin and bones, yet he is overall healthy.
This weight loss is not necessarily cancer but more probably the cause of Mr. Jobs having part of his pancreas removed.
My brother also is diabetic now. The pancreas also releases the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. These hormones help the body use the glucose it takes from food for energy. It would not be a stretch if Mr. Jobs was also a diabetic. But I am speculating.
A nasty bug is sure going around here. Got it a week and a 1/2 ago and still have laryngitis. Fever, sore throat, stuffed sinuses, the works. Near Portland Oregon. Lots of folks out sick with it. And if you travel a lot you’re exposed to a lot more germs and your immune system isn’t at its best. Stress doesn’t help either.
@Jeremy:
A viral infection can easily be followed by a bacterial infection. You are correct if by common bug you are referring to viruses, but you are incorrect in thinking that a virus can not lead to a bacterial infection.
A common bug that causes emaciation? What does he have, the flesh eating disease? Something smells in Cupertino, and it ain’t good for Apple stockholders.
This is turning into some sort of Kremlin-Astrology.
Next thing you know is someone will drill the toilet pipe of the MWSF loo to analyze his liquid egesta.
(The CIA did that when Breshnev was at a summit outside of Russia/USSR…)
We can be really glad that Jobs is by now such a steady personality.
Most people would go insane when confronted with such a personality cult.
OTOH, it shows just how important Jobs is to AAPL – and how unimportant all the other CEOs are to all the other NYSE-listed companies.
Few have had the vision and the obsession of Jobs.
Also, if you look at the Podcast, you can see that Phil Schiller is not bad on stage (better than me and most others on this forum anyway), but he lacks some of the coolness and serenity of Jobs. Scott Forstall is better in this respect – but this maybe because he has got the more technical subjects. It’s easier on stage when you can stick to the technical stuff.
Uh Oh, your glee is disgusting.
Get well soon Steve X
(Am I the first person to say this, other than MDN?)
At the risk of sounding like a fanatic, I launched his MacWorld presentation (QuickTime HD) on one 19″ monitor, while watching yesterday’s performance on another.
The only difference is in facial hair; in January he was sporting a 4-day stubble; yesterday, it was more like a 2-day unshaven. Other than that, he looks exactly the same (and him wearing his usual ‘uniform’ helps a lot bringing out the differences).
The man is fine. And as for antibiotics, oftentimes they are prescribed even for some viral infections, such as the influenza, even though they don’t exactly help directly. They prevent possible bacterial infections, since body tends to have significantly lower immunity to them during viral infections. While vegetarians tend to be very cautious about the use of antibiotics in general (especially when not exactly necessary), I have a feeling that if the story is true, he is taking them in order to reduce chances of any other infection and speed up the recovery from this one.
Good news. The guy’s just skinny y’all!
If Steve dies… Apple go down with him
I’m a doctor. He doesn’t look well. What was that lump in his cheek?
Godspeed SJ!!
What glee, timbo, or should I say dumbo? I merely show concern as a stockholder that Apple is potentially withholding important information.
Gates & Ballmer – more empirical proof that Only the Good Die Young. Viruses probably roll right off of them (sadly the same cannot be said for their software). Don’t even mention the politicians and celebs. Sadly Mr. Jobs will not be around forever. We need to begin develop real medical methods to preserve his brain – CyberJobs!
Amazing the President could die no one cares. SJ dies end of life as we know it.
Steve is slowly being eaten alive by Phil Schiller.
Kidding; get better soon, Steve.
Ampar… you are correct.
COWBELL! MORE COWBELL!
Steve played the hell outta that cowbell yesterday too.
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The Dude abides.
I’m more concerned about Phil Schiller, he was out of breath before he got on stage. He’s even starting to look like Ballmer.
No sense in squabbling. Steve is likely just recovering from an acute infection…
However, it is nonsense to attribute weight loss as merely a side effect of chemotherapy…. One of the strongest indicators of an occult malignancy in an otherwise apparently healthy individual is unexplained weight loss…
Good Health To You Steve…
Whatever the case–whether it be a fever that he’s starving, or he just needs more cowbell–I think we all can agree that thin is in.
Therefore, this will sell more MacBook Air’s.
Pure genius, Steveness.
For those making comparisons to his previous keynote and saying there is no difference, check out the pictures at Macenstein and tell me you don’t notice a stark difference. He looks visibly gaunt in his face.
And a previous poster was right — most “common bugs,” like the flu or the cold, are viral and antibiotics won’t do a thing. It would be more reassuring if they would just say what this “common bug” is. What’s the big deal if he had a spot of pneumonia and disclosed this. The thing is it really brings the point home about transitions and its affect on Apple; this is a company that needs a long and transparent grooming of an heir to inspire confidence in the shareholders and consumers — otherwise, do most people believe Apple will still be Apple after Jobs is gone?
I took the liberty of reporting the bug. Apple says it will be fixed in Steve Jobs 1.0.2.
Thanks a lot Ampar, now I’ve got Low Rider stuck in my head.
Hehehehe, tomato sandwich, hehehahahaha!
Yeah, I want to believe conspiracies, but I live in Southern California, and recently spent a week in the Bay Area. There’s been a LOT of colds going around this year….