Jobs hid cancer for nine months before seeking treatment, damn

CNN has a pretty extensive profile on El Jobso -- the likes of which seem to appear almost monthly these days in the mainstream media publication of your choosing -- but one of the more interesting tidbits is that apparently he sat on his pancreatic cancer for nine friggin' months before seeking treatment back in 2004. To put that in perspective, although his diagnosis was curable at the time, pancreatic cancer is considered to be among the most deadly forms and despite the urgings of the very few friends, family, and associates in the know, Steve apparently sought to cure himself holistically for three quarters -- while everyone else (including Pixar, where he was also CEO) was in the dark. Of course, eventually he gave in and got the surgery he so desperately needed to make his recovery; water under the bridge now, but Apple shareholders certainly must have a feeling or two about Jobs coming so close to the brink.

[Thanks, Adhik]

[Jeremy K. @ Mar 5th 2008 1:32AM]

awww.... poor Steve-o.

[Spyvie @ Mar 5th 2008 1:40AM]

I'm very glad that he is apparently OK, but... Dumb Stev-o

[thef1re @ Mar 5th 2008 2:05AM]

for a second i thought i was on TUAW...

engadget, dipping down to new lows... really is this news???

[James Cameron @ Mar 5th 2008 2:59AM]

Maybe now he'll put in million/billion dollars in research to fight cancer.

[andi @ Mar 5th 2008 6:29AM]

1 death too early... couldn't he have waited another few months?..

[superfresh @ Mar 5th 2008 7:02AM]

Pancreatic Cancer: Most fatal, least funded in terms of research. The five-year survival rate is in the single digits. Steve is very lucky.

[Precision @ Mar 5th 2008 8:20AM]

hmmm, actually cancer of the head of the pancreas is painless. so he probably noticed the problem when he started turning yellow (jaundice) or after noticing that he's shit started floating and is rather pale and stinks as hell. plus its harder to flush (steathorea).

hmmm, 9 months of super stinky shit thats hard to flush. why would anyone want to live with that for that long. unless he took pancreatic enzyme supplements.

am glad he's ok now. still not a smart move.

long live his steveness

[psoup @ Mar 5th 2008 1:00PM]

Actually, there are many different types of pancreatic neoplasms. But they carry different prognosis. For instance if this has been the really lethal pancreatic adenocarcinoma, he would be dead already, this is the really bad player and life expectancy virtually 0% at 5 years with most dying months after diagnosis.

There are other malignancies that are less agressive and some can be slow growing, or even non-malignant such as a microcystic serous adenoma.

As I recall, he had a neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas, which is entirely different than pancreatic adenocarcinoma (which is what people often think about when they say pancreatic cancer), and if caught early can be cured. Even if caught later it may still be able to be cured so long as it has not metastasized (typically to the liver).

[Chuckles McGee @ Mar 5th 2008 12:44PM]

His problem was that cancer was never planned as part of his iLife.

[PeterF @ Mar 5th 2008 4:30PM]

"Maybe now he'll put in million/billion dollars in research to fight cancer."
I doubt it

[JAmerican @ Mar 5th 2008 5:49PM]

@superfresh: I think what you meant to say is that he is very rich. It has little to do with luck.

[Totalfixation @ Mar 5th 2008 1:34AM]

as much as i admire and hate him, i feel pretty bad that he has cancer. He is definitely the heart and sole of apple. I would be such a same if anything happen to him.

[Jeremy W @ Mar 5th 2008 1:40AM]

He HAD cancer.

[Kamokazi @ Mar 5th 2008 10:55AM]

Wait a sec, I'm confused....Apple uses him as a shoe?

[Mike @ Mar 5th 2008 1:38AM]

Oh great.. now all the apple fanboys will think getting cancer is cool...

[James @ Mar 5th 2008 1:42AM]

STFU and think before making a stupid comment like that.

[ryan @ Mar 5th 2008 1:42AM]

not funny.

[themxtr @ Mar 5th 2008 1:48AM]

angry 11 year old fanboy alert ^^^ everybody watch out!

[Baluki @ Mar 5th 2008 2:13AM]

Ha ha, no, that IS funny.

[ethana2 @ Mar 5th 2008 2:47AM]

It's expensive enough, and it does make people look at you differently.

[Zeus.:God @ Mar 5th 2008 3:10AM]

Am I the only one who found that funny? Maybe I'm just sick...

[Luis @ Mar 5th 2008 3:31AM]

No man, Cancer is still lame, iCancer on the other side...

[Jack @ Mar 5th 2008 5:01AM]

If you cant laugh at cancer then the terrorists have won

[Jeff P. @ Mar 5th 2008 9:41AM]

Normally I'd find this type of comment quite offensive, but dang, that WAS funny.

[Mike @ Mar 5th 2008 4:49PM]

What's funny is that I wrote it on a MacBook Pro. I'm not a fanboy. heh. I have a desktop with vista x64 and a macbook pro. All computers have their uses, I choose the best based on what I want to do with it, NOT on who the CEO is. :)

[LordFarkward @ Mar 5th 2008 1:44AM]

now no wonder why the apple fanbois are always so keen on reading whenever jobs go to the bathroom

[yui @ Mar 5th 2008 4:07AM]

yes. I am, but I won't.
but a Mac that could be used inside bathroom is, cool.

[Chris @ Mar 5th 2008 1:46AM]

I hope from the depths of my heart that he makes a 100% full recovery, because 2 members of my family have had run ins with cancer and I know how scary and stressful these times can be to a person and the people he/she loves.

[Mike @ Mar 5th 2008 7:00AM]

The entire article is written in past tense and it clearly states he was treated in 2004. He doesn't have cancer anymore.

[Igor @ Mar 5th 2008 1:51AM]

Why is it that people are not outraged or concerned when cancer is one of the most prevalent and important issues of the century until a famous person has it? This is not the only person who is sick, we need to be aware of the fact that it is still a huge problem in the world and make all conscious effort to battle against it.

[dajimmers @ Mar 5th 2008 2:08AM]

I think most people know someone with cancer and want to or actively fight against it. Everyone is concerned, though perhaps not "outraged."

Much like ANYTHING with famous people, it's interesting if it is about them, it's not if it's about average Joe. Clothes, cars, cancer you name it. While you may not like that, at least it can serve to make the public more aware. Heard of the "Katie Couric Effect"- when her colonoscopy on Today boosted colonoscopies by 20% for nearly a year?

[prisoner 01 @ Mar 5th 2008 2:16AM]

battle it? we can eventually end up controlling it maybe, like we do diabetes, but you'll never beat it.


cancer is an old age disease. there is nothing you can do about it as far as that is concerned

[Mike D @ Mar 5th 2008 2:32AM]

you know.. you're absolutely right engadget should have done a story about my grandmother dieing of cancer

[CB @ Mar 5th 2008 2:52AM]

But there are commercials!

[gregor @ Mar 5th 2008 1:53AM]

was he waiting for his flexspend to kick in or something? glad he's ok, though. still not a smart move.

[hp540 @ Mar 5th 2008 1:55AM]

especially for pancreatic cancer.

[Matthew Chambers @ Mar 5th 2008 2:02AM]

Steve didn't get cancer, the cancer got Steved.

[w00t @ Mar 5th 2008 2:05AM]

Holistic medicine is dangerous and should never be recommended as a substitute for proper treatment for serious diseases!

I say it's dangerous because I know so many people who would blindly put all their faith in so called 'natural healing' whilst they slowly die!
(there are shops in my area which claim they can cure/treat anything with holistic medicine including HIV, cancer, etc! They charge loads too, what a con!)

Consider it for trivial ailments only.

[dajimmers @ Mar 5th 2008 2:12AM]

Or as complementary treatments to your prescribed therapies. And then, only if you tell your doc what you're taking. Things interact, you know, and sometimes very badly.

[DrXym @ Mar 5th 2008 4:07AM]

Damn straight. People who seek "alternative" therapies are basically relying on the placebo effect to cure themselves of a very serious illness. The sad thing is this is can be a fatal decision. I suppose there is nothing wrong in getting acupuncture or chanting or whatever IF you are rigorously seeking proper medical treatment as well. It doesn't mean it does anything though.

[Only morons take this seriously. @ Mar 5th 2008 8:51AM]

That is exactly my reaction to this story. I understand the motivation for seeking "natural" treatment, but it is so misguided. You would think someone as smart as Steve Jobs would make better decisions.

[rv @ Mar 5th 2008 10:09AM]

Holistic medicine is of course, bs. IF it really worked, why wouldn't that be what we were all taking??? Some people can't think.

[PeterF @ Mar 5th 2008 4:33PM]

Wow I swear I have read this same exact text before.

[James @ Mar 6th 2008 9:27AM]

I guess every once in a while the fact that Jobs is basically an aging hippie bites him in the ass.

Seriously, though, the way I look at it, herbal/"holistic" medicine is basically at the bottom of the scale. *Some* herbal medicines do what they say on the tin, usually to the minimum degree possible. A lot of the time, the scientific community identifies these, distills them out or synthesizes the active component and makes a much more powerful drug out of them.

Of course, lots of them are hokum and snake oil, and either way, if I get cancer, I want the strongest, ass-kickingest treatment they can give me. I want it dead *tomorrow*. If Jobs didn't realize that YOUR LIFE IS ON THE LINE, he's not as smart as most people think.

[keithwwalker @ Mar 5th 2008 2:11AM]

Holistic healing+cancer? Is jobs that f***ing stupid?

[dajimmers @ Mar 5th 2008 2:16AM]

Apparently. But, if he had one of the more severe pancreatic cancers (that almost inevitably result in death), then his choice wouldn't have been bizarre. Maybe he misread his diagnosis...for 9 months.

[AutoTom @ Mar 5th 2008 2:22AM]

yeah, and he didn't include an Ethernet port on the macbook air.

i'm not sure which one is dumber.

[ethana2 @ Mar 5th 2008 2:51AM]

Your purchase of a router that doesn't have wifi?

[rock99rock @ Mar 5th 2008 10:30AM]

Yea. Cause wifi is flawless.

[Baluki @ Mar 5th 2008 2:17AM]

Or, don't bother with alternative medicines at all. If they actually worked, they would just be called "medicines", wouldn't they?