Steve Jobs disclosure won't quiet health worries

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs broke with his usual code of secrecy Monday to explain his health problems, but the disclosure that a hormone imbalance was causing his noticeable weight loss will probably do little to tamp down concerns.

Medical experts said a hormone imbalance in a pancreatic cancer survivor raises red flags about a possible recurrence. Jobs said in 2004 that he had undergone surgery to treat a rare form of the deadly disease.

Although Jobs is known as one of the nation's most intensely private corporate leaders, he issued an open letter Monday in which he tried to assure Apple investors and customers that he was healthy enough to lead the pioneering technology company he co-founded.

The 53-year-old CEO said his doctors discovered his condition had been "robbing" his body of proteins needed for good nutrition. He is undergoing treatment, which he described as simple and straightforward.

He did not mention cancer in his letter.

"I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this," Jobs wrote.

Several medical experts, who had no access to Jobs' health records, said problems other than cancer could have caused a hormone imbalance. For example, the surgery to remove his tumor could have left Jobs with a pancreas too small to produce the necessary enzymes.

Yet hormone imbalances are common in people who have an active neuroendocrine tumor, not in people who have been cured of the cancer, said Dr. Selwyn M. Vickers, chairman of the surgery department at the University of Minnesota.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment. The board said it would give Jobs its "complete and unwavering support" while he recovered.

Read the full story here.

-- Dawn C. Chmielewski and Jessica Guynn

Photo credit: Associated Press

Comments

[Faisal]

Never used a Mac and will never consider using one, but I wish Steve the best of health. But then again this is a picture: light, position and being photogenic at times can make the whole difference. Being skinny is always better then being fat

[JG100]

Sounds like a pancreatic cancer to me! Quit trying to treat it with fruits and berrys and see a doc dummy. how are people so smart yet so dumb.

[wildwild]

@Andril: are you sure you aren't believing in crap? from researching around, a sodium bicarbonate treatment can take anywhere from like 2 weeks for skin cancer to 4-9 months for larger tumors. some of it can be self-administered depending on the location of the "cancer", but injections are most effective and doctors in the US will not help you inject yourself with diluted baking soda due to liability and it not being in their industry's vocabulary of solutions. maybe baking soda sounds outlandish to you, but to me, chopping off body parts and being subjected to radiation sounds a lot more ridiculous, especially when there is much more evidence that a healthy alkaline pH balance and direct treatment is possible with a higher rate of success. with millions of people dying each year of cancer, why are you so quick to reject any potential solution? i guess maybe you have to have cancer to see the value in it?

a lot of the modern medical treatments are really just designed to keep you alive NOW, regardless of whether it's actually taking care of the source of the problem (though having this kind of treatment available is important in emergencies). curing it comes later, or never, but in the case of cancer even the immediate solutions fail most of the time resulting in unnecessary deaths from barbaric but officially accepted medical practices.

i know this is unrelated to the article, i do hope Steve gets well, he doesn't look right without his usual fat head! :)

[Colin]

He looks happier in 2008!

[John]

Poor guy. The media should just leave him and his family alone to deal with this. All of the stress can't be good for his health.

[Canon Camera Reviews]

He definitely looks more "with the times".

[Penelope]

Mo, you are right, he should smoke a joint or two (for medical porpuse of course), will give him appetite.

[Jesse]

It's Steve Jobs Nano

[dfed]

get well soon Steve, hope people will stop pestering you about private issues now.

[Kevin]

This has gone way to far. He finally announced his health and you guys go off and start doing this. Good job! Now can you please stop because we've reached a new level that no matter what he has you guys just won't stop!

[GT]

Must be me but he looks healthier in 2008. Apart from the now fully grey hair - which you can see was going grey in 2007 along with his already grey beard. In 2007 his face is chubby with unhealthy fat.

[tenveer]

yah GOD bless him ..........m praying for his fast recovery ....

he is legendary inventor of our time ........

[randygland]

you know, steve jobs' weightloss is the reason every new macbook must be lighter than the last,, so he can still carry one.

[Mamta Narang]

God bless

[Yogesh soni]

Although i've never used any Apple products in my life, but I'm a fan of Mr. jobs, and the Apple. I hope he will get back soon and lead Apple and will provide the whole more innovative technologies. God bless him..........

[jog]

Steve Jobs gut hormones called PYY and ghrelin are imbalanced due to previous surgery. PYY is elevated and thus his body is literally melting fat, while not feeling hungry due to lower secretion of ghrelin. A poor way to die in fat land.

[iFanboy]

Someone was asking about Woz... the last I heard he was teaching in high school or college.

If co-founder Steve Wozniak were to return to Apple ~ that would be incredible.

[Lauren]

Here is to a speedy recovery . Eat well and try to watch the stressors!

God Bless!