10 ms·

Steve Jobs To Take ‘Medical Leave Of Absence’, Stays On As CEO

311 points by transburgh 16y ago

laujen 16y ago
Hope he is okay. If it is pancreatic cancer again, his odds are not good. My aunt had it, beat it, then it reoccurred four years later. She did not make it the second time. Only 2% survive. Good luck, Steve. Whether you like Apple or not, tech is much more interesting with Steve Jobs around.
- acangiano 16y ago
  Truly sorry to hear about your loss. Actual pancreatic cancer is virtually incurable, and far too few resources are allocated to its research versus less deadly cancers. For example, breast cancer affects around 207K people (yes, even men get it, albeit rarely) and ends up killing around 40K people a year. Pancreatic cancer affects 43K people, and ends up killing 37K every year. [1] All cancer research is important, but we should really step up as a society when it comes to cancers that happens to be a dead sentence over the course of 5 years or so. I personally donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and you can do the same here: http://www.pancan.org/ http://www.pancan.org/ [1] http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/commoncancers http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/commoncancers
  - fbailey 16y ago
    It's difficult to decide what should be funded, just because you throw money at a problem doesn't mean a solution will suddenly appear. For a look into the history of cancer research I recommend http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/dp/1439107955 http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/...
- natnat 16y ago
  Actually, Steve Jobs is quite lucky. His type of pancreatic cancer, called islet cell carcinoma, has a much better prognosis than most other types of pancreatic cancer. It is also quite rare, making up only 1.3% of pancreatic cancer cases.
klbarry 16y ago
Apple stock is about to take a beating :/
- shinkansen 16y ago
  Yep, no doubt. If only for this reason, Apple needs to figure out Apple sans Jobs.
  - laujen 16y ago
    My guess is they have, just not publicly. (Easy to argue the merits of that.) Pancreatic cancer doesn't leave too many survivors so I am sure the management team thought a lot about life without steve, at least at that time.
    - shinkansen 16y ago
      I agree, but I think it's less of an internal logistics issue and much more of a public image issue: Steve Jobs is so much the face of Apple as it sits currently, every time there's news about his health the stock fluctuates and that isn't good.
  - jonhendry 16y ago
    The market needs to figure out Apple sans Jobs. Which is only going to happen if a post-Apple Jobs continues to excel. Might take a few years for the markets to be convinced.
  - olivercameron 16y ago
    You don't think Steve will have prepared his company for this? He treats Apple like his own child, and rightly so.
    - llgrrl 16y ago
      > like his own child It might not be a good thing, then. > In California, my mother had raised me mostly alone. http://valleywag.gawker.com/357073/lisa-brennan+jobs-on-her-glamorous-world http://valleywag.gawker.com/357073/lisa-brennan+jobs-on-her-... > She briefly raised their daughter on welfare when Jobs denied paternity, claiming that he was sterile; he later acknowledged paternity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Personal_life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Personal_life
corin_ 16y ago
It’s safe to assume that he’s going to conquer this one as well. Safe to assume that despite not knowing the reason for this leave or how serious it is? :/
- wlievens 16y ago
  I think it's meant as a courtesy and out of respect, rather than as a hedged statement.
  - Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
    Maybe but a simple get well soon and our thoughts are with him and his family would have been better rather than an unsubstantiated prognosis.
prs 16y ago
"In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy."
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- bioh42_2 16y ago
  But he's the CEO of a publicly traded company. And not just any CEO, but like the soul of Apple.
  - cryptoz 16y ago
    What's your point? Don't you think he should have some privacy? The man might be extremely sick, and at worst could potentially be dying. Why does it matter if he's the CEO of a publicly traded company? What does that have to do with his right to privacy when he's ill?
    - Evgeny 16y ago
      Maybe the idea is that he should have some privacy, but unfortunately that's not how the world operates ...
    - ayb 16y ago
      I agree that he should have some privacy but as the CEO of one of the largest publicly traded companies the state of his health is something investors need to know.
      - napierzaza 16y ago
        Yes, Apple stock prices are determined by whether Steve Jobs is getting a colonoscopy or whatever other procedures that might be coming to him. I think that there are some serious limits to the "CEO of a publicly traded company" line that nosey people keep spewing.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
archgrove 16y ago
Steve Jobs will eventually leave Apple. This is a fact. The question becomes "When he does leave, will Apple be damaged by it"? The press will undoubtedly claim its demise (as they have been for decades), and 10 years ago I think this might have been true - the corporate ethics that have made Apple successful were not in place. Now, with the executive team he's built and trained, I suspect his presence is vastly less important. The design team with Ives, operation team with Cook, etc. know what's making things work. He's been "absent" a lot in the last few years, yet it's been the strongest period for the company - clearly, something works when he's not at his desk. The damage will be in PR. He's an almost unrivalled corporate showman, and few companies are as associated with their CEO as Apple. Whoever gives keynotes in the future would be wise to develop their own style rather than copy his. There may also be collateral damage in ruthlessness and vision - we constantly hear how he drives new products, and kills off "failures" early. However, the more I read recent interviews with anonymous Apple employees, the more I see he seems to have reformed the company in his image. It's impossible to gauge how much actual presence he's had over the last few years, and it seems quite likely the press have over-egged his effect. As long as his successor is not a radical corporate reformer, and is willing for a few years to be seen as an "Heir to Jobs", it seems likely to me things will roll on quite successfully. I suspect Jobs will "retire" either this or next year. When they replace him, if they don't promote from within, then any CEO should: absolutely not engage in a massive expansion/race to the bottom; introduce change slowly rather than play with Apple like a new toy and; rely on the corporate team that's been built until they deeply understand what's working and what's not. In many ways, Job's eventual departure (hopefully based on choice, rather than necessity) could be good for Apple. I firmly believe a little of his control freak nature could be sanded off the company to their advantage. They should drop the "Control for control's sake" direction they've been taking recently, and stay focused on the core corporate ethics that have bought them success - a high degree of perfectionism, technical risk taking, user focused design through everything, and a great marketing team. It won't be exactly the Apple of today, but given some of the…hostile decisions over the last 3 years, it might actually be an improvement.
- shinkansen 16y ago
  > In many ways, Job's eventual departure (hopefully based on choice, rather than necessity) could be good for Apple...[i]t won't be exactly the Apple of today, but given some of the…hostile decisions over the last 3 years, it might actually be an improvement. I certainly hope so.
StacyC 16y ago
Best wishes to Steve and family.
grammaton 16y ago
Liver failure killed my mother. Cancer killed my father and grandmother. They're both ugly, ugly diseases. While I'm not thrilled at the way Jobs used his money to get himself on as many transplant lists as he could, it's still not anything I'd wish on anyone. Best of luck to him and his family.
- yardie 16y ago
  As many transplant lists? He got on one, Tennessee, by living there. He didn't live there long, but to be considered he had to be there, not California, Hawaii, and Texas. And I don't blame him. Cancer is a nasty disease and if you've got the money to beat than more power to him. We should all have the resources to fight any disease, but after the silly arguments made about HCR I can say that we don't really "want" that.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    I'm all for it, let's distribute the organs back to the same income bracket that generated them. I'm pretty sure there would be a substantial across the board wage increase.
    - yardie 16y ago
      Why have to redistribute donated organs at all. In an ideal world medical research wouldn't be impeded by a religious agenda. Think about how much research could have been accomplished if there wasn't an effective ban against stem-cell research? How many lives are lost because organ donation is double opt-in? You have to agree to it before death and your next of kin has to agree after your death. And how could preventive medicine allow people to diagnose a problem before organs were lost. Steve has the money to see the problem and take effective countermeasures. A lot of people don't and the way the current government is carrying on you would think some don't want the help.
      - jacquesm 16y ago
        That's a very US centric view of things. It's funny my original comment must have been modded down several times and then modded back up again, it's almost as though there is some misinterpretation going on there. If you disagree with it feel free to speak out :) The idea behind it is a simple one: If rich people can use their money to 'jump the line' and buy the organs of poorer people that have died but left with a donor-codicil in their name then it would be good to limit the distribution of those organs to people that are roughly in the same income bracket. By doing that there would be a drive for people that are wealthy to encourage research that would relieve the need for donor organs or there would be a push to reduce the income disparity so there would be more people available in the higher income brackets that could serve as donors. Both would be beneficial in the long run. Having the rich be overrepresented as the consumers of donated organs and under represented as the donors (in absolute terms) is not good for society at all.
wildmXranat 16y ago
Modern medicine keeps us alive long enough to eventually die of cancer. I lost my mom a year ago. I wish his family well. It must be tough for them.
- davidu 16y ago
  This. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of medicine today. As a society, we have become exceptionally good at treating pathological diseases. This is how we know we will eventually cure AIDS because we fundamentally know how to do this kind of medicine. (And it appears like an AIDS vaccine, and perhaps even a cure is closer than we think.) Unfortunately we are terrible at treating any aging-related disease. Diseases such as those that relate to the fundamental breakdown of the metabolic process, cancer or Alzheimer's. We just simply don't have the research and experience to treat these diseases in anything less than a crude way. For those unaware, Chemotherapy and Radiation are probably some of the least-precise medical treatments we apply on any broad scale today in modern medicine. We try to radiate or kill your cancer cells before we kill the rest of your body. Seriously. Anyways, more research on aging-related disease is critical if we want people to keep living longer. If we don't, then we should just focus on pain management and let people die as they grow older.
  - stcredzero 16y ago
    This. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of medicine today. AFAIK, it's actually true. If we live long enough, we'll all get cancer. In the case of men, it's a near certainty we'll get prostate cancer if we don't die of something else first. Also, 85% of us have Cytomegalovirus, which basically executes a DOS attack on the memory of your immune system, eventually resulting in immune deficiency. However, the progression of CMV is so slow, we'll almost certainly die of cancer before this happens.
    - Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
      And cancer isn't one condition, it's many many conditions, so if they cured prostrate cancer you'd likely get another one. The chances of a single "cure for cancer" is basically zero. http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd042009s.gif http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd042009s.gif gives a nice summary.
noarchy 16y ago
It is a holiday in the US, today, right? At least, the markets are not open. The timing of this announcement is almost certainly not a coincidence. On a more personal note, good luck, Steve!
- aaronbrethorst 16y ago
  Plus, Apple announces earnings after the market closes tomorrow.
  - redthrowaway 16y ago
    I just want to let you know that I accidentally downvoted you. I meant to upvote you, as I think your point is a valid one, but my thumbs are too fat for my iPhone. Sorry.
    - aaronbrethorst 16y ago
      No sweat. Have you tried http://ihackernews.com http://ihackernews.com?
      - redthrowaway 16y ago
        It loos good, but it's missing the ability to check my comments for responses. HN really needs to implement reddit's orangereds.
        aaronbrethorst 16y ago
        Notifo. That's how I'm responding within a couple seconds of your posts :)
zatara 16y ago
This is a sad day, I wish all the best to Steve and his family. Maybe this is not the best place to ask, but does anyone know about Steve's eating habits? I know he was a frutarian at a certain point and then changed to fish/vegan (particularly sushi), but would really like to know more. The reason is that I am in need of drastic personal changes regarding diet/exercise and thus trying to incorporate a vegan/vegetarian diet, which has been very difficult for me. I know that cancer is a multi-factorial disease, but it still scares me that some apparently very healthy individuals (such as Jobs or Linda McCartney) have such tough health problems. I feel very well when I manage to stick to a vegan diet, but would like to know more about longterm effects.
- Evgeny 16y ago
  I think whatever you may learn about well-known peoples' eating habits will be self-reported. It may be beneficial to appear as a vegan or vegetarian, but we'll never know exactly what do celebrities actually eat. Also, as you noted, their habits may change during their lifetime. If you're seriously interested in healthy eating habits, I would suggest to look at sources or studies on the subject, rather than trying to emulate the celebrities diets.
- smharris65 16y ago
  While this book is not specifically about vegetarian diets, it does contain good information about diet and the effect on preventing cancer, along with other info: http://amzn.to/mg3jg http://amzn.to/mg3jg
- c1sc0 16y ago
  "I am in need of drastic personal changes regarding diet/exercise". This kind of thinking scares me. What's wrong with gradually moving towards a more balanced lifestyle, taking on one hurdle at a time? Whatever happened to eat well, sleep well, exercise? Why this sudden urge to 'change everything' from one day to the next? Why directly switch to vegan when 'eating less meat' would be a good start? Do you want to get healthy for real or just feel the satisfaction of "living a healthy lifestyle"? Sorry if I'm a bit harsh, but I see far too many people suddenly "switching to diet X" & destroying themselves in the process. Go easy on your body.
brudgers 16y ago
>"It’s safe to assume that he’s going to conquer this one as well." v = (SteveJobs = immortal || TechCrunch = journalism); print v $> FALSE
- epochwolf 16y ago
  You just assigned SteveJobs to immortal...
  - brudgers 16y ago
    It's a common error among some programmers.
  - neworbit 16y ago
    There can be only one!
  - xenophanes 16y ago
    You mean assigned immortal to SteveJobs.
    - brudgers 16y ago
      There is a Basic syntax error. But obviously that is not it.
- hugh3 16y ago
  It seems that they've changed that sentence, it now says "Hopefully he's going to conquer this one as well".
wowfat 16y ago
Get well soon, Steve!
yaakov34 16y ago
I think we should all take a few moments to reflect on the debt that computer users and developers everywhere owe to Steve Jobs for his work in these last few years. Yeah, most of us have our differences with him (I am not a fan of the "closed garden" approach), but there is no denying that he opened huge new markets and product categories that all of us will benefit from. It takes a lot of drive to do that kind of work while having such major medical troubles. I really believe that what drives him is the desire to give the next great thing to users, and to take Apple to new heights. Money can't be the motivator - he's got plenty, and it's probably not at the top of his list anyway, during such life and death struggles. Speaking for myself - I recently had some surgery which was nowhere near as complicated and life-threatening as what he went through - I know I wouldn't have the drive and commitment to return to work in such a big way, especially if my family was already taken care of financially. So - thanks to Steve Jobs and best wishes for his health, and no, I don't think it's right to wish for him to return to work soon - he will decide how to spend his energy, and he's already spent more of it at Apple than anybody had the right to ask.
- kadavy 16y ago
  Absolutely. I'm in the mindstate to do this today, as we celebrate one of history's great leaders (MLK). It may sound like a ridiculous comparison, but I put the two together as my biggest heroes: people who put their vision for the future of humanity ahead of their own well-being.
antirez 16y ago
It is vastly impossible to run something like Apple in a successful way with just an outstanding guy like Jobs, you need N outstanding people. While he is a for sure a remarkable personality in the computer industry and the "soul" of Apple, I think they'll be able to succeed even with N-1. On the other hand, generational turnover is very, very important. Maybe at some point, even a terrific figure like Jobs may be as bad as it is good for Apple. For instance, how much big role he played in the culture of closure of Apple? So it is even possible that an Apple without Jobs could be, all in all, a better company.
dr_ 16y ago
First of all, on the pancreatic cancer note - what he had was a curable type of cancer, a rare form, not your typical pancreatic cancer. What really is far more likely is transplant rejection, and his doctors probably asked him to take some time off and are going to play around with his immunosuppresant medications. Just a guess though. Hopefully he will return because without him Apple really is not the same company, despite their ability to succesfully execute on their planned projects. A visionary has to plan for the future, and Steve Jobs isn't just the CEO of Apple, but kind of a new type of media mogul. He seat on Disneys board surely holds sway, and Apple is going to need his influence to further it's push into TV, movies and publications - he is the man, for example, Murdoch or Igor are going to want to speak to. I do wish him a speedy recovery.
cpr 16y ago
The sad fact is that Apple will never be the same after Jobs. I think he embodies a unique ability to see the heart of a new technology or aspect of technology and to focus in on the critical part or parts, ruthlessly getting to what he sees. It's not just a design sense (like Ive), nor a good sense of what consumers really "want." And there are plenty of downsides to this unique gift. (We can all cite plenty of examples.) I don't think we've seen that from anyone else, even at Apple, over the years, so there's no real replacement possible. I think it's even spilled over to Pixar's success, which is pretty amazing. (Maybe Alan Kay rivals it, in a different world.)
enterneo 16y ago
I lost my dad on 31st December, 2010. He had a cancer in his rectum, which eventually reached his lungs. My mom and I are still trying to recover from our loss :-(
- captainbenis 16y ago
  Sorry for your loss. :-( I hope you both start feeling better as the spring comes closer.
- shortlived 16y ago
  I lost my mom to cancer when I was 20. I can only tell you the truth - it takes a long time for the pain to subside, but it never truly goes away. The only thing you can do is to talk with friends and family and to tell stories about your dad to keep his memory alive. It's been 13 years or so since then and recently I got married and we had our first kid. We "adopted" a very good family friend to be a surrogate grandmother to our son, not in replacement of my mom but just to fill the void. I know this goes against the ethos of HN, but life is really not about software. It's about people. Get out there and live life and meet people. A lot of exercise and playing loud angry music was also really good for me for a while.
CoachRufus87 16y ago
Get better, Mr. Jobs.
js4all 16y ago
This sounds serious. I wish him all the best.
Tichy 16y ago
Just today I was thinking of why Jobs works so well for Apple: could it be that he doesn't let the company become complacent? Every other big company seems to become complacent. There simply is no need to invent radical new products if you are still bringing in money by the truckloads. But I could imagine for Steve Jobs it is not the revenue that makes him happy, it is the optimum product. So if a product could be better, Apple employees will have fires under their asses. Anyway, I wish him well.
patrickgzill 16y ago
AAPL is down 7.96% on the Frankfurt bourse (markets closed today in the USA due to MLK Day) today, see: http://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/EN/index.aspx?pageID=35&ISIN=US0378331005 http://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/EN/index.aspx?pageID=35&I...
masterponomo 16y ago
Draft John Sculley?

311 points by transburgh 16y ago

Hope he is okay. If it is pancreatic cancer again, his odds are not good. My aunt had it, beat it, then it reoccurred four years later. She did not make it the second time. Only 2% survive. Good luck, Steve. Whether you like Apple or not, tech is much more interesting with Steve Jobs around.

acangiano 16y ago
Truly sorry to hear about your loss. Actual pancreatic cancer is virtually incurable, and far too few resources are allocated to its research versus less deadly cancers. For example, breast cancer affects around 207K people (yes, even men get it, albeit rarely) and ends up killing around 40K people a year. Pancreatic cancer affects 43K people, and ends up killing 37K every year. [1] All cancer research is important, but we should really step up as a society when it comes to cancers that happens to be a dead sentence over the course of 5 years or so. I personally donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and you can do the same here: http://www.pancan.org/ http://www.pancan.org/ [1] http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/commoncancers http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/commoncancers
- fbailey 16y ago
  It's difficult to decide what should be funded, just because you throw money at a problem doesn't mean a solution will suddenly appear. For a look into the history of cancer research I recommend http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/dp/1439107955 http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/...
natnat 16y ago
Actually, Steve Jobs is quite lucky. His type of pancreatic cancer, called islet cell carcinoma, has a much better prognosis than most other types of pancreatic cancer. It is also quite rare, making up only 1.3% of pancreatic cancer cases.

klbarry 16y ago

Apple stock is about to take a beating :/

shinkansen 16y ago
Yep, no doubt. If only for this reason, Apple needs to figure out Apple sans Jobs.
- laujen 16y ago
  My guess is they have, just not publicly. (Easy to argue the merits of that.) Pancreatic cancer doesn't leave too many survivors so I am sure the management team thought a lot about life without steve, at least at that time.
  - shinkansen 16y ago
    I agree, but I think it's less of an internal logistics issue and much more of a public image issue: Steve Jobs is so much the face of Apple as it sits currently, every time there's news about his health the stock fluctuates and that isn't good.
- jonhendry 16y ago
  The market needs to figure out Apple sans Jobs. Which is only going to happen if a post-Apple Jobs continues to excel. Might take a few years for the markets to be convinced.
- olivercameron 16y ago
  You don't think Steve will have prepared his company for this? He treats Apple like his own child, and rightly so.
  - llgrrl 16y ago
    > like his own child It might not be a good thing, then. > In California, my mother had raised me mostly alone. http://valleywag.gawker.com/357073/lisa-brennan+jobs-on-her-glamorous-world http://valleywag.gawker.com/357073/lisa-brennan+jobs-on-her-... > She briefly raised their daughter on welfare when Jobs denied paternity, claiming that he was sterile; he later acknowledged paternity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Personal_life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs#Personal_life

corin_ 16y ago

It’s safe to assume that he’s going to conquer this one as well. Safe to assume that despite not knowing the reason for this leave or how serious it is? :/

wlievens 16y ago
I think it's meant as a courtesy and out of respect, rather than as a hedged statement.
- Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
  Maybe but a simple get well soon and our thoughts are with him and his family would have been better rather than an unsubstantiated prognosis.

prs 16y ago

"In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy."

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
bioh42_2 16y ago
But he's the CEO of a publicly traded company. And not just any CEO, but like the soul of Apple.
- cryptoz 16y ago
  What's your point? Don't you think he should have some privacy? The man might be extremely sick, and at worst could potentially be dying. Why does it matter if he's the CEO of a publicly traded company? What does that have to do with his right to privacy when he's ill?
  - Evgeny 16y ago
    Maybe the idea is that he should have some privacy, but unfortunately that's not how the world operates ...
  - ayb 16y ago
    I agree that he should have some privacy but as the CEO of one of the largest publicly traded companies the state of his health is something investors need to know.
    - napierzaza 16y ago
      Yes, Apple stock prices are determined by whether Steve Jobs is getting a colonoscopy or whatever other procedures that might be coming to him. I think that there are some serious limits to the "CEO of a publicly traded company" line that nosey people keep spewing.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

archgrove 16y ago

Steve Jobs will eventually leave Apple. This is a fact. The question becomes "When he does leave, will Apple be damaged by it"? The press will undoubtedly claim its demise (as they have been for decades), and 10 years ago I think this might have been true - the corporate ethics that have made Apple successful were not in place. Now, with the executive team he's built and trained, I suspect his presence is vastly less important. The design team with Ives, operation team with Cook, etc. know what's making things work. He's been "absent" a lot in the last few years, yet it's been the strongest period for the company - clearly, something works when he's not at his desk. The damage will be in PR. He's an almost unrivalled corporate showman, and few companies are as associated with their CEO as Apple. Whoever gives keynotes in the future would be wise to develop their own style rather than copy his. There may also be collateral damage in ruthlessness and vision - we constantly hear how he drives new products, and kills off "failures" early. However, the more I read recent interviews with anonymous Apple employees, the more I see he seems to have reformed the company in his image. It's impossible to gauge how much actual presence he's had over the last few years, and it seems quite likely the press have over-egged his effect. As long as his successor is not a radical corporate reformer, and is willing for a few years to be seen as an "Heir to Jobs", it seems likely to me things will roll on quite successfully. I suspect Jobs will "retire" either this or next year. When they replace him, if they don't promote from within, then any CEO should: absolutely not engage in a massive expansion/race to the bottom; introduce change slowly rather than play with Apple like a new toy and; rely on the corporate team that's been built until they deeply understand what's working and what's not. In many ways, Job's eventual departure (hopefully based on choice, rather than necessity) could be good for Apple. I firmly believe a little of his control freak nature could be sanded off the company to their advantage. They should drop the "Control for control's sake" direction they've been taking recently, and stay focused on the core corporate ethics that have bought them success - a high degree of perfectionism, technical risk taking, user focused design through everything, and a great marketing team. It won't be exactly the Apple of today, but given some of the…hostile decisions over the last 3 years, it might actually be an improvement.

shinkansen 16y ago
> In many ways, Job's eventual departure (hopefully based on choice, rather than necessity) could be good for Apple...[i]t won't be exactly the Apple of today, but given some of the…hostile decisions over the last 3 years, it might actually be an improvement. I certainly hope so.

StacyC 16y ago

Best wishes to Steve and family.

grammaton 16y ago

Liver failure killed my mother. Cancer killed my father and grandmother. They're both ugly, ugly diseases. While I'm not thrilled at the way Jobs used his money to get himself on as many transplant lists as he could, it's still not anything I'd wish on anyone. Best of luck to him and his family.

yardie 16y ago
As many transplant lists? He got on one, Tennessee, by living there. He didn't live there long, but to be considered he had to be there, not California, Hawaii, and Texas. And I don't blame him. Cancer is a nasty disease and if you've got the money to beat than more power to him. We should all have the resources to fight any disease, but after the silly arguments made about HCR I can say that we don't really "want" that.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  I'm all for it, let's distribute the organs back to the same income bracket that generated them. I'm pretty sure there would be a substantial across the board wage increase.
  - yardie 16y ago
    Why have to redistribute donated organs at all. In an ideal world medical research wouldn't be impeded by a religious agenda. Think about how much research could have been accomplished if there wasn't an effective ban against stem-cell research? How many lives are lost because organ donation is double opt-in? You have to agree to it before death and your next of kin has to agree after your death. And how could preventive medicine allow people to diagnose a problem before organs were lost. Steve has the money to see the problem and take effective countermeasures. A lot of people don't and the way the current government is carrying on you would think some don't want the help.
    - jacquesm 16y ago
      That's a very US centric view of things. It's funny my original comment must have been modded down several times and then modded back up again, it's almost as though there is some misinterpretation going on there. If you disagree with it feel free to speak out :) The idea behind it is a simple one: If rich people can use their money to 'jump the line' and buy the organs of poorer people that have died but left with a donor-codicil in their name then it would be good to limit the distribution of those organs to people that are roughly in the same income bracket. By doing that there would be a drive for people that are wealthy to encourage research that would relieve the need for donor organs or there would be a push to reduce the income disparity so there would be more people available in the higher income brackets that could serve as donors. Both would be beneficial in the long run. Having the rich be overrepresented as the consumers of donated organs and under represented as the donors (in absolute terms) is not good for society at all.

wildmXranat 16y ago

Modern medicine keeps us alive long enough to eventually die of cancer. I lost my mom a year ago. I wish his family well. It must be tough for them.

davidu 16y ago
This. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of medicine today. As a society, we have become exceptionally good at treating pathological diseases. This is how we know we will eventually cure AIDS because we fundamentally know how to do this kind of medicine. (And it appears like an AIDS vaccine, and perhaps even a cure is closer than we think.) Unfortunately we are terrible at treating any aging-related disease. Diseases such as those that relate to the fundamental breakdown of the metabolic process, cancer or Alzheimer's. We just simply don't have the research and experience to treat these diseases in anything less than a crude way. For those unaware, Chemotherapy and Radiation are probably some of the least-precise medical treatments we apply on any broad scale today in modern medicine. We try to radiate or kill your cancer cells before we kill the rest of your body. Seriously. Anyways, more research on aging-related disease is critical if we want people to keep living longer. If we don't, then we should just focus on pain management and let people die as they grow older.
- stcredzero 16y ago
  This. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of medicine today. AFAIK, it's actually true. If we live long enough, we'll all get cancer. In the case of men, it's a near certainty we'll get prostate cancer if we don't die of something else first. Also, 85% of us have Cytomegalovirus, which basically executes a DOS attack on the memory of your immune system, eventually resulting in immune deficiency. However, the progression of CMV is so slow, we'll almost certainly die of cancer before this happens.
  - Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
    And cancer isn't one condition, it's many many conditions, so if they cured prostrate cancer you'd likely get another one. The chances of a single "cure for cancer" is basically zero. http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd042009s.gif http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd042009s.gif gives a nice summary.

noarchy 16y ago

It is a holiday in the US, today, right? At least, the markets are not open. The timing of this announcement is almost certainly not a coincidence. On a more personal note, good luck, Steve!

aaronbrethorst 16y ago
Plus, Apple announces earnings after the market closes tomorrow.
- redthrowaway 16y ago
  I just want to let you know that I accidentally downvoted you. I meant to upvote you, as I think your point is a valid one, but my thumbs are too fat for my iPhone. Sorry.
  - aaronbrethorst 16y ago
    No sweat. Have you tried http://ihackernews.com http://ihackernews.com?
    - redthrowaway 16y ago
      It loos good, but it's missing the ability to check my comments for responses. HN really needs to implement reddit's orangereds.
      - aaronbrethorst 16y ago
        Notifo. That's how I'm responding within a couple seconds of your posts :)

zatara 16y ago

This is a sad day, I wish all the best to Steve and his family. Maybe this is not the best place to ask, but does anyone know about Steve's eating habits? I know he was a frutarian at a certain point and then changed to fish/vegan (particularly sushi), but would really like to know more. The reason is that I am in need of drastic personal changes regarding diet/exercise and thus trying to incorporate a vegan/vegetarian diet, which has been very difficult for me. I know that cancer is a multi-factorial disease, but it still scares me that some apparently very healthy individuals (such as Jobs or Linda McCartney) have such tough health problems. I feel very well when I manage to stick to a vegan diet, but would like to know more about longterm effects.

Evgeny 16y ago
I think whatever you may learn about well-known peoples' eating habits will be self-reported. It may be beneficial to appear as a vegan or vegetarian, but we'll never know exactly what do celebrities actually eat. Also, as you noted, their habits may change during their lifetime. If you're seriously interested in healthy eating habits, I would suggest to look at sources or studies on the subject, rather than trying to emulate the celebrities diets.
smharris65 16y ago
While this book is not specifically about vegetarian diets, it does contain good information about diet and the effect on preventing cancer, along with other info: http://amzn.to/mg3jg http://amzn.to/mg3jg
c1sc0 16y ago
"I am in need of drastic personal changes regarding diet/exercise". This kind of thinking scares me. What's wrong with gradually moving towards a more balanced lifestyle, taking on one hurdle at a time? Whatever happened to eat well, sleep well, exercise? Why this sudden urge to 'change everything' from one day to the next? Why directly switch to vegan when 'eating less meat' would be a good start? Do you want to get healthy for real or just feel the satisfaction of "living a healthy lifestyle"? Sorry if I'm a bit harsh, but I see far too many people suddenly "switching to diet X" & destroying themselves in the process. Go easy on your body.

brudgers 16y ago

>"It’s safe to assume that he’s going to conquer this one as well." v = (SteveJobs = immortal || TechCrunch = journalism); print v $> FALSE

epochwolf 16y ago
You just assigned SteveJobs to immortal...
- brudgers 16y ago
  It's a common error among some programmers.
- neworbit 16y ago
  There can be only one!
- xenophanes 16y ago
  You mean assigned immortal to SteveJobs.
  - brudgers 16y ago
    There is a Basic syntax error. But obviously that is not it.
hugh3 16y ago
It seems that they've changed that sentence, it now says "Hopefully he's going to conquer this one as well".

wowfat 16y ago

Get well soon, Steve!

yaakov34 16y ago

I think we should all take a few moments to reflect on the debt that computer users and developers everywhere owe to Steve Jobs for his work in these last few years. Yeah, most of us have our differences with him (I am not a fan of the "closed garden" approach), but there is no denying that he opened huge new markets and product categories that all of us will benefit from. It takes a lot of drive to do that kind of work while having such major medical troubles. I really believe that what drives him is the desire to give the next great thing to users, and to take Apple to new heights. Money can't be the motivator - he's got plenty, and it's probably not at the top of his list anyway, during such life and death struggles. Speaking for myself - I recently had some surgery which was nowhere near as complicated and life-threatening as what he went through - I know I wouldn't have the drive and commitment to return to work in such a big way, especially if my family was already taken care of financially. So - thanks to Steve Jobs and best wishes for his health, and no, I don't think it's right to wish for him to return to work soon - he will decide how to spend his energy, and he's already spent more of it at Apple than anybody had the right to ask.

kadavy 16y ago
Absolutely. I'm in the mindstate to do this today, as we celebrate one of history's great leaders (MLK). It may sound like a ridiculous comparison, but I put the two together as my biggest heroes: people who put their vision for the future of humanity ahead of their own well-being.

antirez 16y ago

It is vastly impossible to run something like Apple in a successful way with just an outstanding guy like Jobs, you need N outstanding people. While he is a for sure a remarkable personality in the computer industry and the "soul" of Apple, I think they'll be able to succeed even with N-1. On the other hand, generational turnover is very, very important. Maybe at some point, even a terrific figure like Jobs may be as bad as it is good for Apple. For instance, how much big role he played in the culture of closure of Apple? So it is even possible that an Apple without Jobs could be, all in all, a better company.

dr_ 16y ago

First of all, on the pancreatic cancer note - what he had was a curable type of cancer, a rare form, not your typical pancreatic cancer. What really is far more likely is transplant rejection, and his doctors probably asked him to take some time off and are going to play around with his immunosuppresant medications. Just a guess though. Hopefully he will return because without him Apple really is not the same company, despite their ability to succesfully execute on their planned projects. A visionary has to plan for the future, and Steve Jobs isn't just the CEO of Apple, but kind of a new type of media mogul. He seat on Disneys board surely holds sway, and Apple is going to need his influence to further it's push into TV, movies and publications - he is the man, for example, Murdoch or Igor are going to want to speak to. I do wish him a speedy recovery.

cpr 16y ago

The sad fact is that Apple will never be the same after Jobs. I think he embodies a unique ability to see the heart of a new technology or aspect of technology and to focus in on the critical part or parts, ruthlessly getting to what he sees. It's not just a design sense (like Ive), nor a good sense of what consumers really "want." And there are plenty of downsides to this unique gift. (We can all cite plenty of examples.) I don't think we've seen that from anyone else, even at Apple, over the years, so there's no real replacement possible. I think it's even spilled over to Pixar's success, which is pretty amazing. (Maybe Alan Kay rivals it, in a different world.)

enterneo 16y ago

I lost my dad on 31st December, 2010. He had a cancer in his rectum, which eventually reached his lungs. My mom and I are still trying to recover from our loss :-(

captainbenis 16y ago
Sorry for your loss. :-( I hope you both start feeling better as the spring comes closer.
shortlived 16y ago
I lost my mom to cancer when I was 20. I can only tell you the truth - it takes a long time for the pain to subside, but it never truly goes away. The only thing you can do is to talk with friends and family and to tell stories about your dad to keep his memory alive. It's been 13 years or so since then and recently I got married and we had our first kid. We "adopted" a very good family friend to be a surrogate grandmother to our son, not in replacement of my mom but just to fill the void. I know this goes against the ethos of HN, but life is really not about software. It's about people. Get out there and live life and meet people. A lot of exercise and playing loud angry music was also really good for me for a while.

CoachRufus87 16y ago

Get better, Mr. Jobs.

js4all 16y ago

This sounds serious. I wish him all the best.

Tichy 16y ago

Just today I was thinking of why Jobs works so well for Apple: could it be that he doesn't let the company become complacent? Every other big company seems to become complacent. There simply is no need to invent radical new products if you are still bringing in money by the truckloads. But I could imagine for Steve Jobs it is not the revenue that makes him happy, it is the optimum product. So if a product could be better, Apple employees will have fires under their asses. Anyway, I wish him well.

patrickgzill 16y ago

AAPL is down 7.96% on the Frankfurt bourse (markets closed today in the USA due to MLK Day) today, see: http://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/EN/index.aspx?pageID=35&ISIN=US0378331005 http://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/EN/index.aspx?pageID=35&I...

masterponomo 16y ago

Draft John Sculley?