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Steve Jobs Had a Liver Transplant Two Months Ago
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For now, the news is good.
I just wish Apple PR had left well enough alone months ago and kept mum of Jobs' health - instead of issuing half-truths about nutritional ailments.
Excellent post to put the numbers in perspective.
I too am a physician -- and I am also an oncologist. Note also my screen name -- let's just say I am in proximity to a large liver transplant center.
Yes, Dave 00, liver transplantation is not the easiest thing in the world. Spend a few days consulting in a liver transplant ICU and you know what I mean.
In terms of Steve Jobs' situation: who can really tell unless you have all of the facts in front of you? From the news reports, one can guess that "slowly progressive tumor of the pancreas" is an islet cell tumor or less likely a carcinoid. These do metastasize to the liver, and can either cause weight loss by (1) taking over the liver through progressive growth, or (2) through expression of hormones from the metastatic islet cells (either insulin, glucagon, or VIP). The progressive weight loss likely meant that the tumor was starting to progress in terms of symptoms of hormonal secretion (thus the notes of "hormonal imbalance" stated by various Apple news reports).
Options for control at that point would be (1) systemic chemo; (2) chemo into the liver; (3) a combination of (1) and (2); (3) radiofrequency (microwave) ablation of the largest of the liver tumors; or (4) liver transplant.
I suspect that all of the first 3 choices were tried first. Steve Jobs is a billionaire, with a young family, and plenty to live for. While option 4 is likely the most risky, it is the most aggressive. Steve Jobs strikes most of us as an aggressive guy, no? Why not go for it?
I think while medically aggressive, it is a reasonable option, and nobody is trying to delude the shareholders with misinformation.
Good luck, Steve, and now get us the darned Apple portable tablet by the winter!
I think that the lesson to be learned here is that no statements by Apple PR should be trusted.
None of them.
None of them.
How so. A midrange desktop is extremely cheap to make and they would fly off the shelves. Are you trying to say that HP and Dell are losing money on their desktop systems too? Maybe Apples desktop sales suck because they don't sell the type of desktop that 90% of people want.
sorry bud completely wrong. Transplants are based off a score called the MELD. This is calcualted on lab values and ranges from 6 (normal) to 40 (100% chance of death in three months) you need a 15 to get transplanted, Exceptions (ie extra points) are given to people with special conditions like certain cancers, lung conditions and diseases
please see the www.unos.org website for the full details
actually you're wrong
people with liver transplants can live 10 to 20 years. it depends on the disease
We only know about this because Steve & co wanted us to. The Steve is definitely not above lying to keep his privacy and presumably to prevent share prices dropping. Fair or not, his health matters to share holders and it will always be a topic of discussion. If he doesn't like that, he could retire and perhaps spare everyone the drama.
I also wondered about his donor. It's doubtful but it would be interesting if it was a living donation given by the daughter he denied many years ago.
Steve Jobs is a total prick but he's a good CEO (and apparently quite a legend) and I wish him well.
(any fanboys/girls who don't like it, read the last 4 words of the above sentence again before flipping out)
I also wondered about his donor. It's doubtful but it would be interesting if it was a living donation given by the daughter he denied many years ago.
Steve Jobs is a total prick but he's a good CEO (and apparently quite a legend) and I wish him well.
(any fanboys/girls who don't like it, read the last 4 words of the above sentence again before flipping out)
Me too!!
I do public speaking engagements in favor of organ and tissue donation because of all of the misinformation about it. Register to be an organ and tissue donor.
I had a liver transplant 17 years ago, this July 4th, waited only 8 days to receive a liver and was given 24 hours to live if I hadn't gotten a transplant (a fact that I only heard from my parents after I had the transplant). I've had zero problems at all since. Might as well have been outpatient.
It's great to see Steve got a second chance at life and it's great to see everybody thinking and talking about transplantation. Just make sure you know what you're talking about before you say it because people die everyday because of rumors and misconceptions about organ and tissue donation.
I do public speaking engagements in favor of organ and tissue donation because of all of the misinformation about it. Register to be an organ and tissue donor.
I had a liver transplant 17 years ago, this July 4th, waited only 8 days to receive a liver and was given 24 hours to live if I hadn't gotten a transplant (a fact that I only heard from my parents after I had the transplant). I've had zero problems at all since. Might as well have been outpatient.
It's great to see Steve got a second chance at life and it's great to see everybody thinking and talking about transplantation. Just make sure you know what you're talking about before you say it because people die everyday because of rumors and misconceptions about organ and tissue donation.
Aiden -
If you haven't learned by now - NO PR info should be trusted.
Their job spins(pun) around mis-information.
Live long and prosper, Steve.
Z
If you haven't learned by now - NO PR info should be trusted.
Their job spins(pun) around mis-information.
Live long and prosper, Steve.
Z
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple CEO Steve Jobs received a liver transplant about two months ago to treat some ongoing complications from his previous pancreatic cancer:The exact source for the information is not provided, though The Wall Street Journal is reporting it as fact and not rumor. They also state that he is recovering well and is expected to return to Apple at the end of June, though may initially return on a part-time basis.
Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple's CEO in January for a medical leave of absence. Jobs had previously been treated and said to have been cured of pancreatic cancer in 2004.
According to experts cited by The Wall Street Journal, the reason for a liver transplant may have been from the spread of the original pancreatic cancer into the liver. The exact cure rate for this particular condition with a liver transplant seems to be up for debate, although five-year survivals for all causes of liver transplant seems to be around the 75% range.
The report adds some validity to previous rumors that Steve Jobs was receiving medical treatment in Memphis, Tennessee.
Article Link: Steve Jobs Had a Liver Transplant Two Months Ago
Can this man not have any privacy?
Congratulations to the Wall Street Journal, and their unnamed source for their HIPPA violations. How can they not be aware that it is *illegal* to disclose someone's medical information without their consent. It's fairly clear from the mention of "Mr. Jobs didn't respond to an email requesting comment." that they didn't get his consent.
TB- You need to go read up on HIPPA law. Once your private medical information is known, HIPPA cannot not stop anyone from reporting that. HIPPA only covers Health Plans, Health Care Providers, and Health Care Clearing Houses. These entities cannot disclose your information without consent.
The WSJ has every right to report the information. If someone in the medical field released that info, then they are violating HIPPA, not the WSJ.
I'm always fascinated by all the weekend-warrior lawyers we have running around who think they know the law.
The bottom line is that we have all been lied to. I'm not saying Steve lied about the transplant months ago, I'm saying that it now appears that each story we got wasn't the real story, and that every subsequent story made up for the lies of the previous story. Why don't people just learn to tell the truth. With the truth, it's all good.
Head, co-founder, visionary, leader of a public company = no privacy
Ouch! But all kidding aside, you only get one liver, and you need it to survive. Unless the living person wanted to be no longer living, I would assume that the donor was deceased.
OOh.. that daughter comment really hit down low.
People who have liver transplants often have other factors, including diseases and other health-related problems. This brings down the life expectancy as a whole. If one was just swapping out a liver, and the body didn't reject it, and there were no complications, you would probably have 50/50 chances to lead a normal life as you would with your own liver.
We expect companies to lie about their products, to embellish the feats they can perform. To make their products look like the greatest thing since the wheel. However, we don't expect them to lie about the health of their CEO/leader. This is something that North Korea and Cuba do on a regular basis.
Steve should be proud that he has battled so fiercely and proud of where he is at this point, with all that has happened. I don't care what anyone says about privacy... when you are a public figure, you have none. I'm not saying that's right, I'm saying that is how it is. Just get over it! You don't have to go out there spilling your history, but when the time comes you choose to make an announcement, just do lie to us.
Illness is hard to get through, but it doesn't affect you either way if we know the truth about your illness. In fact, the more we know, the harder we can pray for you, and that can only help.
So in closing, stop lying Steve. Ok?
Since when? That doesn't make any since. And as tbrinkma said, it's a clear violation of HIPPA.
Although I imagine it's not quite as common, you can have live liver donations. They take about half and it is often enough for both donor and receiver. Do a quick google, it's not sci-fi, I swear!
So, uh...you are certain that he lied, you know exactly what he said, you have a transcript? And you are certain beyond a reasonable doubt that the condition he may have had (or understood he had 6 months ago) did not change, or was diagnosed differently with different projected outcomes, between then and now?
As far as the waiting list---the waiting list for livers in Tennessee is about 48 days. Jobs has been out 6 months.
So Jobs is neither a liar or a narcissist, based on what you say.
Strong medical fail. haha
But at least it SOUNDED like you knew what you were talking about.
It's only a violation if his health care providers/doctors disclosed the information directly. They are in violation. The WSJ is free to print any medical information it receives from *any* source, regardless of the original violation.
Don't hate the messenger. HIPPA is a red herring here. It has no impact on the validity of the story. If he had a transplant, he had one, regardless of any violation that occurred before it was in print.
Unless you live on Mars, you will notice that all celebrities, and Jobs is one, have little or no privacy involving their personal lives. And actually we have as little privacy too, but nobody really cares to look into what we, simple folk are doing. Most information you think is private is a matter of public record. You'd be amazed at how much someone can find on you, your bank accounts, your mortgages, your court proceedings, taxes, even medical history.
So no, there is no real privacy, but when you are a celebrity, you find out what that really means.
Nice. I LOL'd. I think the WSJ has a better legal team than Tbrinkma does. At least more informed
