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Apr 12, 2001
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The topic of Steve Jobs' health has become a hot topic amongst blogs and newspapers over the past few weeks. In 2004, Steve Jobs underwent surgery for a rare and curable form of pancreatic cancer. Jobs was reportedly cured of the disease.

The issue of his health, however, was recently raised again after his appearance at WWDC 2008. While MacRumors had previously avoided speculating about this topic due to its personal nature, a New York Times article by Joe Nocera now provides first hand information from Steve Jobs, himself.

In an unusual sequence of events, the author of the article reports that Steve Jobs called him directly, and divulged details about his recent health problems but only if it was kept "off the record". In the end, Nocera does reveal that there was nothing that contradicted his previous article on Steve Jobs' health and that "while his health problems amounted to a good deal more than 'a common bug,' they weren't life-threatening and he doesn't have a recurrence of cancer."

This is likely to be the most official response about Steve Jobs' health that will be publicly disclosed.

Article Link
 
You left out the best bit:


“This is Steve Jobs. You think I’m an arrogant [expletive] who thinks he’s above the law, and I think you’re a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong.”
 
I was actually very worried.

I am glad he is ok because I was truly worried. I am glad he is in good health and hope he is around at Apple for many years to come.
 

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Any takers for all signing a card?

I dont want steve ditching me like this! Hopefully he'll outlive me!
 
As long as he's on the mend, that's the important thing. Keep well Steve.
 
As an Apple stockholder Steve's health is very much a public matter, considering how critical he has been to the success of Apple the past 10 years. If his health affects his abilities we (stockholders) have a right to know and the board has a responsibility to ensure the company can function with a replacement temporarily, or (it can happen) permanently.

Steve Jobs being so closely associated with "his" company cant hide the fact that he has had serious health issues more than once it turns out in the past few years.
 
As an Apple stockholder Steve's health is very much a public matter, considering how critical he has been to the success of Apple the past 10 years. If his health affects his abilities we (stockholders) have a right to know and the board has a responsibility to ensure the company can function with a replacement temporarily, or (it can happen) permanently

If you'll read the article, you'll see that the SEC does not necessarily agree with that statement; they have yet to take a position on it. So while we may want to know as shareholders, it's not quite accurate to say we have a "right" to know, at least not a legal right.
 
As much as I wish for Steve's continued health, I feel that Apple PR (and Jobs himself) has handled this entire issue terribly. They can issue statements of denial until they're blue in the face, but they mean absolutely nothing until we hear an official comment from Steve himself.

So, that said, why doesn't he pen another open letter? It would serve to assuage the fears of both Apple shareholders and the technology community, while at the same time earn him a little goodwill that was lost when the whole "he concealed his pancreatic cancer for nine months" thing came to light. Either he'll have a new health issue to share (and it sounds like he does), or he'll put the fears of many to rest for quite a while. Either way it's a win-win for Apple: if he's ill again, at least they're disclosing it; if he's not, so much the better.

The entire world of Apple is based on a culture of deep secrecy. However, as the most valuable man in the consumer electronics industry, Jobs' right to healthcare privacy is, IMHO, essentially nonexistent. Though they don't have a legal responsibility to do any of the things I've suggested, the company can't afford to be anything less than completely transparent in this case. The fact that they have not been, and the fact that there hasn't been widespread outrage because of this, boggles the mind.
 
I am glad he is ok because I was truly worried. I am glad he is in good health and hope he is around at Apple for many years to come.


Nice photo IndianaiPhone, makes me think...

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away!
 

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“This is Steve Jobs,” he began. “You think I’m an arrogant [expletive] who thinks he’s above the law, and I think you’re a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong.”


I think I would crap my pants...... I wonder what it feels like to get pwnd by Steve.
 
I wish he would retire so we could finally get two buttons on the trackpad on a MBP. I dont think the company would miss a beat without him. He is just a person.
 
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