Siri creator Dag Kittlaus diagnosed with same rare type of pancreatic cancer Steve Jobs had

Dag Kittlaus “who sold his famous speech recognition company to Apple in 2010, was dubious about getting an executive exam at the University of Colorado hospital,” Kara Swisher reports for Recode. “He was in great shape, having done regular triathlons and always eating healthy. But his wife had urged him to go and so he did in November.”

“While getting a scan of his heart, though, the doctors inadvertently discovered a lemon-sized tumor on his pancreas, ironically of the exact same rare type that Apple founder Steve Jobs had,” Swisher reports. “Called pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer, it is luckily one of the less aggressive kinds of tumors, but only if caught early. Often, it is not, since there are no real symptoms until the person who has one gets jaundice, after which it can be too late.”

“Kittlaus had surgery at Johns Hopkins that took half his pancreas, as well as his spleen and gall bladder, and where one of the nurses was, ironically, named Siri,” Swisher reports. “‘It was the luckiest set of circumstances, because without that exam it most certainly would have spread and I would be dead,’ said Kittlaus in an interview this week. ‘The prognosis is very good and I am incredibly lucky, but the biggest thing I learned is that tomorrow is promised to no one.'”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Good to see he took expedient action on this lucky gift of foresight. Would that Steve had done so, too.

SEE ALSO:
Harvard Medical School researcher: Steve Jobs’ trust in alternative medicine likely shortened his life – October 14, 2011

13 Comments

  1. Exscept he was diagnosed early (like Jobs) but sought the right treatment and is nowa survivor. Mr Jobs preferred nuts, berries, and voodoo.

    Of course, we now have a anti-vaccine guy heading the vaccine study group from Drumpy Dumpy. Sot the science thing is kinda out the window.

  2. It is called a Whipple Procedure and it can save your life. Steve Jobs chose to piss away 6 months on fad diets and prayer to the mythical gawd in the sky.

    Cannot offer Medical advice, but 30 years in Radiology tells me this: listen to your Doctor. Get the best Doctor you can find, ask questions, do your homework, get a second opinion if necessary, but do not let time become your enemy.

    There is no cure for dead.

  3. He is very fortunate. He is what we call a PNET, and I am as well. However, there is not enough information in the medical circles about neuroendocrine (NET) cancer and as a result, many folks are still getting misdiagnosed or their physicians are not aware of new treatments. There are several organizations who could use more folks like Mr. Kittlaus speaking out on this disease. http://www.thehealingnet.org

  4. Most likely, the procedure could have save Steve.

    But we don’t know for certain. The surgeon could have fumbled and he could have joined the same fate as Andy Warhol – died during a routine gall-bladder operation.

    Of course, from all we know and all things considered, it was a gross mistake, an unforgivable error in judgement.
    But still, he did what he did and lived through the consequences, till the bitter end.

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