A mere day before the big shindig at the Moscone, Steve Jobs has come clean about his
much-discussed weight loss in a open letter to the Apple community, saying that a hormone imbalance is to blame. "The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment," says Steve. Doctors expect it to take him until late Spring to regain the weight and body mass, and Steve will stay on as CEO during his recovery. Oh, and if you hadn't guessed, Steve isn't so big on the personal stuff: "So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this."
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read - Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs
Read - Statement by Apple's Board of Directors
posted Jan 5th 2009 8:57AM
Which is indeed great news :)
Hopefully Mr. Jobs gets a speedy recovery.
Considering Steve had pancreatic cancer this makes a lot of sense. The pancrease is an exocrine and endocrine organ in control of many metabolic functions in the body. It is known Steve hates going to the doctor, and so just ignored this most likely. I bet no doctor was actually baffled. As the other commenter noted below, I bet Steve has gotten even thinner, which is why he won't be doing the Keynote.
To add one more thing, he most likely has Diabetes now too (which is technically a hormone imbalance), and this does not mean he has cancer again.
And there is one more thing...
To Jobs -
"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Friedrich Nietzsche. You have done proven this to Apple Inc Apple was once on the brink of a bankruptcy and you managed to pull it through.
I believe you can do this to yourself too !
Tom~
"And believe me I am still alive, still alive, still alive."
MALE HORMONE IMBALANCE SYMPTOMS:
http://www.testsymptomsathome.com/SYM_male_hormones.asp
@leo
I'd totally watch Weekend at Bernie's 5: iBernie.
And I (along with the rest of the world) should honestly, with all hearts, give a shit..... Why?
Did I miss the Jesus Jobs for Savior posters and bumper stickers?
Monkeys
lol people really love this guy
well good for him that he's alive
Lol. I just finished learning all the hormones of the pancreas in medical school.
For those that want to know more, here are the hormones of the pancreas, what causes their release, and what they do (in that order):
1) Insulin - high glucose in blood - causes absorption of glucose into cells. (only hormone that does this)
2) Glucagon - low glucose in blood - causes release of glucose into blood. (several other hormones do this - this is the most recognizable if i remember correctly)
3) Somatostatin - acidic pH in duodenum (first part of small intestine) - turns off acid release in the stomach
4) CCK - fats & proteins in the duodenum - allows for breakdown of fats & proteins for absorption - NOTE: lacking this would mean that you wouldn't absorb most of your food, thus making you thinner.
Anyway, with an inbalance of these likely hormones (and maybe a few more, but I can't remember) - you'd have a person with poor nutrition and likely high blood sugar (diabetes). Oh, and the reason why pancreatic cancer is so horrible, in my opinion, is because it contains all of the enzymes in the body that breaks down food (very powerful stuff). Overproduction of these enzymes would kill you from the inside out.
So there you go!
Jeff
BCM Class of 2012
STEVE JOBS AIR !
Now 20% thinner !
wow paul that was really dumb.... really really dumb
RIP steve jobs
Flashpoint, that was LOL-worthy. Anyway, I'm not a fanboy but I do wish Mr. Jobs a speedy recovery and best wishes.
@Flashpoint
Thats one of the few times ive literally laughed out loud reading comments
But seriously, get well Jobs! Although i dont like apple that much, without you, the evil'r Balmer will run a muck!
Whole apple is shit ..
Ya, go eat some beef!
I also hope Jobs makes a speedy recovery. I don't hate the man or his wares, just his fan club.
Since an irreversible hormonal unbalance started things can only be delayed.
The man is dieing from pancreatic cancer.
I personally don't like him much but still It's VERY SAD..
@Peto
"Whole apple is shit .."
Well.... Hence the Apple logo.
get well Steve
Maybe stop eating Apples and start eating McMicrosoft Burgers :)
On a serious, get well SJ
"Hormone imbalance"?
So I guess he's not special . . . like all computer nerds everywhere.
Yeah, except his condition is probably not related to late-night over-consumption of Mountain Dew, pizza, and Cheetos.
If he would have consulted Dr. House, M.D., he would have had the diagnosis months ago. Of course, House would have treated him for four different diseases, given him a brain biopsy, bone marrow biopsy and almost killed him three times during the episode, but gosh darn it, he would have been right.
I don´t want to share but I share... what a load of crap. You had to share this info Steve-o for the people who hold your fortune, ie the shareholders. Don´t pretend you don´t feel like sharing as you are obliged todo this.
Now get back in bed like plenty of other people who get sick. Nothing new on the horizon here.
Maybe it's Lupus?
....nm
Not cancer, or infection, it's auto-immune(body attacking protein). Start him on interferon, and wheel his ass to Macworld...
-House
Which hormone?!
I need to loose some 20Kg, this might be of some help :)
"late-night over-consumption of Mountain Dew, pizza, and Cheetos."
The only consumption anyone should be worried about is under-consumption!
It's NEVER lupus, lol. Has anyone noticed that House loves Apple? He has a MacBook and stole Wilson's iPhone one episode. House probably would have watched the MacWorld keynote, diagnosed the illness and kidnapped Steve and taken him back to Princeton, somehow managing to kill Wilson's new girlfriend along the way.
Oh, my, I just got an idea for the perfect episode.
You know what else is a hormone imbalance? Death.
I wonder if he's going to a homeopathic/naturopathic "doctor" who's telling him this crap.
The term hormonal imbalance is a bit whacky.. I mean it's way too overbroad .. diabetes is hormonal imbalance. Hmm, maybe it's related to that considering he had pancreatic cancer? Anyway .. considering what hormones are ... any chemical a cell uses for signalling to another cell .. ..he could have a range of stuff.
Now if he looks like a skeleton for WWDC, then we'll know that instead of seeing a proper physician, he went to a top Silicon Valley ayurvedic practitioner who "diagnosed" him.
Which weight loss causing "hormonal imbalance" can be fixed by diet alone? It sounds like something a naturopathic would tell him. Anyway .. I don't care what he has .. I hope he recovers and I think he needs to be seeing a proper physician and not a quack like he did at first when he had that pancreatic issue.
Anyway, ultimately a person's health is a private matter .. so he doesn't have to tell us shit. I hope he recovers and give us free iPhones and batteryless Mac Pros (why not).
"Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis."
The use of the word "sophisticated" makes me very skeptical. Using language like that is a hallmark of TV ripoffs and Internet rumors.
@paul chapel: Chuck and Sarah love there iPhones, and Jack Donahey got a shiny new iMac this season. Apple provided the computers in all cases. It's just product placement.
@dandaman, who said: "Apple provided the computers in all cases. It's just product placement."
Oh, SNAP, you mean Gregory House M.D. isn't real!
/sarcasm
Dude, seriously, shut up.
"Which hormone?!"
It's the iLive hormone.
Lol, House would treat Steve like crap (just like any other patient), something that Steve has never experienced before.....
You said House loves Apple, I pointed out that it was the other way around. I'm sorry if I didn't get your sarcasm. Don't over-react.
I just wrote a script and will be submitting it to the producers of House M.D. right away. Here's a sample:
House: You're an IDIOT!
Steve: Excuse me?
House: You had pancreatic cancer four years ago and you didn't tell me, which means your wife is about to leave you.
Steve: What? My wife has nothing to do with this.
House: Everybody lies. You’re skinnier than a Macbook Air, you moron! It’s one thing for you not to notice, but if your wife hasn’t picked up on the fact that her husband looks like Skellington Jack, she’s just not paying attention. Oh, by the way, do you consume just ridiculous amounts of to-fu and mega-dose vitamins? The to-fu gives you protein, which masked the problem, but the niacin in the vitamins disrupts the pancreatic medication. Get a set of fingerpaints and do the math… and get a good lawyer.
Steve: I should go.
House: You think it’s going to come out on its own? Are we talking bigger than a bread basket? Because, actually, it will come out on its own, which for small stuff is no problem - it’s wrapped up in a nice soft package and plop. Big stuff - you’re going to rip something, which, speaking medically, is when the fun stops.
Steve: How did you–
House: You’ve been here half an hour and you haven’t sat down, that tells me its location. You haven’t told me what it is, that tells me it’s humiliating. You were fired from Apple in 1985 and somehow thought AppleTV was a great idea, and that tells me you have a high tolerance for humiliation, so I’m figuring it’s not hemorrhoids. I’ve been a doctor twenty years. You’re not going to surprise me.
Steve: It’s an iPod.
House: Hmm. Is it… is it because of the size, or the shape… or is it the pounding bass line?
Steve: What are we going to do?
House: I’m going to wait.
Steve: For what?!
[Scene change: House leaving his office]
Dr. House: [to Foreman] Okay. It’s 3 o’clock, I’m off. Could you tell Dr. Cuddy there’s a patient in my office that needs her attention? And the RIAA wants her to check for illegal downloads.
Steve Jobs is on S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S!!!
Wow Paul, that was actually pretty damn good
Had me LOL'ing
You've got a real knack for that!
Paul Chapel, you just got some House DVDs for Christmas, didn't you?
Lucky guy! I wish I had a hormone imbalance leading to a weight loss!
...and his bank account!
But without his Bank balance, YOU WOULD DIE!
and his bank balance is about to get bigger! Rumours have it Steve is going to give keynotes at the next WeightWatchersWorld. Announcing iSlim hormone treatment programme. Naturally, iTunes and iPods will get iSlim plug-in tracking your progress with a line of white accessories expected to follow.
Wait, you mean Apple is announcing a product tie-in to the Nintendo Wii Fit?
OH SNAP! I know he didn't!
Really - unbalance those hormones and become a skinny-bones!
I smell a product here...
Man am I glad to hear this....
Phew!
That thing that crashed in Roswell was a weather balloon.
I see what you did there.
Classic broli...
I don't...
He's probably just got an eating disorder--like every other Apple-worshiper.
Um, That's a new one.
an apple a day....
...oh wait.
I guess this is bad news for all the Anti-Apple people. Now Microsoft might have to actually compete and continue to lose market share.
@Paul
Please get off our side or keep quiet. Your comments do more harm to Apple's image then you can imagine.
Speak for yourself, Tubby!
Isn't he a vegan?
Good news, great to hear, though almost certainly won't be appearing tomorrow now I feel.
Hook, line & sinker:
Let's postulate that Steve Jobs really is indeed terminally ill, and bed ridden - or in a condition that putting him in the public's eye would reveal the true state of his health. What would you as a CEO or a board do? You'd come out with a vague letter just like this. He has never missed one of these keynotes and not even attending should raise more than a few eyebrows.
Now that the big day is is only hours away, they have to come up with some explanation. A 'hormone imbalance' could mean anything, including complications from cancer. This is likely his 'reality distortion field' working about his own health. They kept it a secret for as long as they could when he was first diagnosed with cancer, they lied about his health being the reason why he was not speaking macworld, and now they're just continuing the facade.
I don't think this is just a simple thyroid problem.
Whilst I cede that Apple/Jobs/Most secretive (yet public figures) are very capable at lying/misdirecting/obscuring the truth on health issues; it could also simply be the case at the stress of speaking in front of hundreds (and millions via time delay) of people, with the stock price of your company very dependent on your performance aren't exactly the conditions conducive to recovering from a serious (though not necessarily life-threatening) condition, and in fact such a situation could exacerbate the condition further. On the other hand, he could be about to kick it, though I hope not.
Don't care. He's just another human being, not some iGod. I don't wish him dead or anything. But I really don't give a frack about a CEO of a company. Be it Apple, MS, Dell, Toshiba, etc. They are just another person doing their job. Period.
Apple's fortunes are tied 150% to this guy. Many people here have either a financial stake in Apple or some bizarre cult tie to that company's CEO, so they run around like chickens worrying about every poor little thing that happens with this guy.
Yes your right, Steve isn't an iGod or anything like that, but I think he is more than an average human. He is one of the founding fathers of the personal computing era, and technology wouldn't be the same without him.
Unless your a stock holder, the market seems to be incredibly susceptible to changes in SJ's health and well-being.
@ fred:
Now that Jobs has come clean, perhaps it's time for your #1 mancrush Steve Ballmer to disclose the cause of his inhuman perspiration problem?
Troll Different.
I suspect, John, that he would appreciate that sentiment. He doens't want to drag his health issues out in the public any more than the average Joe who has chronic explosive diarrhea.
Apple's stock would take a hit if something happened to him, just as Intel's would if Otellini left or anyone else. Would it be more dramatic? Of course, would it be a long-term problem, probably not unless they resurrected Mr. Ed and installed him as CEO.
Troll Different. LOL, I like that.
"
Now that Jobs has come clean, perhaps it's time for your #1 mancrush Steve Ballmer to disclose the cause of his inhuman perspiration problem?"
#1 mancrush? What on Earth are you talking about?
Is what I said a lie? Nope.
Just because it's a bit embarrassing to hear, doesn't make me some flake for Steve Ballmer.
"Troll Different."
Better advice could not be given to yourself, Quix.
Someone can go ahead and give me a lower severity of that imbalance, plz kthx.
Just rip out part of your pancreas. Should do the trick.
Good to hear it wasn't too serious, get well soon Steve...
Is Steve morphing into Nicole Richie?
Jobs is a vegan. Possible connection to hormone imbalance?
@Jay Evans who wrote "Jobs is a vegan. Possible connection to hormone imbalance?"
Don't start creating FUD about veganism. Steve jobs is a pescetarian (a vegetarian who also consumes fish) and is NOT vegan.
But these people ARE vegans:
bodybuilder Kenneth Williams.
http://veganmusclepower.org/
Carl Lewis (Olympic athlete) who admits that it was being a vegan that helped him become the fastest runner in the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOTETXwfIaY
Mac Danzig, Ultimate Fighter champion, who is also an ethical vegan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Danzig
Keith Holmes former World Middleweight boxing champion.
I'm letting you know now that I'm eating a burger today only because of the GoVegan poster.
lol.
@govegan,
You're telling me you're completely happy drinking soy milk and pill poppin' instead of getting what your body needs the natural way? Thanks but no thanks. I'll stick to eating my beef. It is after all what's for dinner.
f*** off john. i'm a vegetarian. i don't appreciate your blatant discrediting of the beliefs I presumably share with GoVegan.
@GoVegan
Simply because some prosper on a vegan diet doesn't mean all vegans eat the same diet or that diet will have the same effect on all people.
I base my observation on this quote by Jobs
“The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward,” Jobs said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7UYyp5rjeS0&refer=worldwide
Maybe in an attempt to eat what be believed to be the best "anti-cancer" diet, something critical to his particular body chemistry was missed or left out.
I bet you the average vegan knows and cares more about the health properties of what they eat than non-vegans.
And the average vogon knows and cares less about poetry than non-vogons.
Too much tesosterone.
HE'S TOO MANLY.
I kid, obviously. Good to hear that he's going to get better :)
Really? A hormone in balance? Come on... Eveybody knows that steve had cancer and hid it for months. As a man who owns more of apple then anybody else, he knows what would happen to apple stock if it came out that his cancer was back (which I'm sure it is).
Just wait in a few months/(hopefully) years, it will come out that his cancer is back.
-You- are a cancer.
Maybe he's just going through menapause?
*menopause
MANopause
Read between the lines here folks...
1. "As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors."
Jobs and Apple have been saying for a year that it was nothing significant. NOT knowing the cause of mass weight loss IS significant.
2. "A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority."
Obviously it has grown WORSE since you last saw Steve and finally a few weeks ago became important enough that he had to make fixing the problem his #1 priority. Again while I applaud his decision and assume that the doctor's new diagnosis will help cure the problem, this statement doesn't imply the simple, insignificant issues that Apple and Steve tried to portray for the last year.
A persons health care is a private issue, no doubt. However when the person runs a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company it is inappropriate and ILLEGAL to make false statements that could impact stock price, and that included implying a health issue isn't significant when it is now crystal clear it is.
Oh, shut up, it is not illegal to keep an illness private, even for a CEO. You can't even get someone to reveal medical records in court without giving a judge a mountain of case law and it's usually done only when it's relevant to a criminal proceeding. I hate all you internet lawyers.
You're probably one of those guys who still thinks Microsoft got sued for just having a monopoly.
Im sure most of the internet hates you too, Chapel. Moron.
Of course if your a leader of a corporation as large as Apple you have to be honest and upfront about issues like this. Same goes for someone who is leader of a country.
I'd like to know where you got your internet degree on corporate law? Don't have one? Hrmmmm, maybe you should research a little before you type, and especially figure how you feel about what you're writing. A little hypocritical I'd say. Bitching about internet lawyers, then you go on about how hard it is for courts to obtain medical information... something that is easy to do, based on the needs of the situation.
Do you really believe that there would have been zero issue if Jobs had said something was wrong with him months ago? You bet your ass there would have been. And that's why nothing has been said. Until now, when all the stock and share holders can be assured that it is only a hormonal imbalance that's causing his current health state.
Here's a list of filings required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Where in this list do you see a CEO's medical records?
* F-1: Registration statement for certain foreign private issuers.
* 3: Initial statement of beneficial ownership (Insider transactions)
* 4: Statement of changes in beneficial ownership (Insider transactions).
* 5: Annual statement of changes in beneficial ownership (Insider transactions).
* S-1: General form of registration statement.
* POS AM: Post-effective amendments to provide updated prospectus information.
* 13D: Notification of a holding of 5% or more of any class of a company's shares by a single investor or group working together.
* 144: Report of proposed sale of securities.
* 20-F: Registration of securities of foreign private issuers pursuant to section 12(b) or (g).
* ARS: Annual Report to Security Holders.
* 6-K: Report of foreign issuer pursuant to Rules 13a-16 and 15d-16.
* 10-Q: Quarterly report filed pursuant to sections 13 or 15(d).
* 10-K: Annual report pursuant to section 13 and 15(d).
* 8-K: Interim report which announces any material events or corporate changes that occur between 10-Q quarterly reports.
* 11-K: An annual report of employee stock purchase, savings and similar plans.
* 14-A: Proxy Statement. Notification of shareholder votes, information about the Board of Directors, Board compensation, and Executive compensation.
The only circumstance that would require Steve Jobs to report anything to shareholders, would be under a 8-K filing, which requires a CEO to notify shareholders in the event they can no longer do their job. And even then, it's up to the corporation to tell if there's a medical problem. Do you really expect anyone to believe that Steve Jobs would openly reject SEC rules after being investigated for the options scandal a couple of years ago. What's that? Oh, yeah, I thought so.
@Paul, excellent posts. Keep it up. Ignore the illiterate hate-tools.
Gosh, they're like weeds on this site. Probably on it too.
Paul Chapel is a bit of a nob
@ paul, you conveniently left out several fillings that DO require a loss in health, and/or possible death needing to be brought forward. But you know what? Arguing with you is pointless. Especially since I see now that your reply was formatted to make it seem as though you were correct. Anyone that blindly follows you is just as ignorant... Like that douchebag Roole.
I think everyone who has a shred of common sense knows it's not a "hormone imbalance" unless by that you mean more cancer cells than before. Then again he's human and has every right to keep personal the issues affecting him. I just hope he recovers well because I really can't see the company doing right in his absence. Then again he might just be a puppet by now but I somehow doubt that. Good luck Steve and hope you beat it!
Pirates of Silicon Valley...
@High ranks made me sterile :( -
It's never Lupus