I am sure you can do your own research...i even gave you a starting point with Otto Warburg.
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Steve Jobs' Official Cause of Death Listed as Respiratory Arrest and Pancreatic Tumor
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I am sure you can do your own research...i even gave you a starting point with Otto Warburg.
Thanks
Just to clear up a few things that came up....
The whipple procedure does remove part of your pancreas. It does not lead to requiring a liver transplant usually. He likely had metasteses to the liver or maybe failure due to chemo meds since liver failure and tumors are indications for transplant. I can't imagine why you would need a liver transplant after a whipple, because of the whipple. But, I am not a surgeon
You do not need your pancreas to live. Pancreatectomy is a known and performed surgical procedure. It is inconvenient to not have one though. The problem with pancreatic cancer is that it is often aggressive, not know until well developed, in the middle of lots of vascular tissue and abdominal organs (meaning it can spread easily), is difficult to access, does not like to be operated on and gets inflamed, and is also full of reactive fluid. It is not a good organ to have cancer in. Its probably right up with non-resectable brain cancer or advanced malignant melanoma on my personal badness meter.
Cancer cause pain because tumors grow in various parts of your body. Depending where it grows, gives different types of pain. Bone, nerve, organs, stomach....dull, sharp, aching, nausea, vomiting, pressure...you name it. Its not really definable.
"Respiratory arrest" is barely more informative a cause of death than "cardiac arrest". It's like saying your computer doesn't work because it won't boot. There's many reasons for respiratory arrest. It usually means someone went peacefully, and/or an acute cause that is meant to be private. It doesn't really matter and is none of my business nor my concern and I refuse to speculate on exactly why. Pancreatic cancer is enough of an explanation anyone not directly involved in his care, and is certainly a reason to pass away.
The whipple procedure does remove part of your pancreas. It does not lead to requiring a liver transplant usually. He likely had metasteses to the liver or maybe failure due to chemo meds since liver failure and tumors are indications for transplant. I can't imagine why you would need a liver transplant after a whipple, because of the whipple. But, I am not a surgeon
You do not need your pancreas to live. Pancreatectomy is a known and performed surgical procedure. It is inconvenient to not have one though. The problem with pancreatic cancer is that it is often aggressive, not know until well developed, in the middle of lots of vascular tissue and abdominal organs (meaning it can spread easily), is difficult to access, does not like to be operated on and gets inflamed, and is also full of reactive fluid. It is not a good organ to have cancer in. Its probably right up with non-resectable brain cancer or advanced malignant melanoma on my personal badness meter.
Cancer cause pain because tumors grow in various parts of your body. Depending where it grows, gives different types of pain. Bone, nerve, organs, stomach....dull, sharp, aching, nausea, vomiting, pressure...you name it. Its not really definable.
"Respiratory arrest" is barely more informative a cause of death than "cardiac arrest". It's like saying your computer doesn't work because it won't boot. There's many reasons for respiratory arrest. It usually means someone went peacefully, and/or an acute cause that is meant to be private. It doesn't really matter and is none of my business nor my concern and I refuse to speculate on exactly why. Pancreatic cancer is enough of an explanation anyone not directly involved in his care, and is certainly a reason to pass away.
I doubt that his diet was responsible as he apparently ate a very healthy diet.
So we can look to probable causes:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/pancreatic_cancer/page2_em.htm#Pancreatic Cancer Causes
I don't think he drank (excessively) or smoked. He wasn't old. I don't know if he had diabetes. He was a male. Family history is the big? since he was adopted. Not much he could have done to prevent it. None of this takes away from your point in general that prevention is far more valuable than cure.
People! Why can't you all respond with just three simple letter "R I P" instead of analyzing how he died and what was in his death certificate. I think it is very insensitive to have lame comments. It really sickens me.
R.I.P Steve!
R.I.P Steve!
If you are uncomfortable with death then don't read the thread. Plenty of other condolence threads.
Given that cancer is such a horrible disease, I would hope that Apple will make a generous donation to this cause:
The V Foundation for Cancer Research
In fact, I just made a US$50 donation to the V Foundation just recently.
The V Foundation for Cancer Research
In fact, I just made a US$50 donation to the V Foundation just recently.
As a nurse I assure you he did not suffer. He had the means to pay for the best medical care money could buy. Such a statement is ignorant especially not knowing his personal situation. Now your average Joe may have suffered due to our pathetic medical system here in the US, but Mr. Jobs did not.
The same meds that kept him out of pain also helped speed along the "respiratory arrest" which ultimately took him away. He died peacefully, painlessly and was most likely unresponsive hours if not a day or two before he died. So how about we don't mourn our loss but celebrate his life.
His diet was ridiculous - he was a fruitarian (I don't know for how long though) Eating practically sugar all day, will trigger insulin spikes frequently and stress the pancreas. In fact, sugar intake is directly linked to pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, diabetes, etc.
I went to med school but medicine is great for treating infections and surgical procedures of course.. the diseases that affect us today are largely due to our diet and lifestyle. Add to that people who have half baked knowledge ('eat fruits only!' or.. 'eat veggies only') etc.. just make things worse.
I was under the impression that he was a pescetarian, at least before the onset of the disease.
Not a great way to go.
I only hope he was as comfortable as one could be under the circumstances.
I only hope he was as comfortable as one could be under the circumstances.
Here's the link to an actual study done on the effects of fructose (sugar found in fruits) on pancreatic cancer cells:
https://carcinoid.wordpress.com/tag/dr-anthony-heaney/
It's pretty simple if one understands the basic mechanism of human physiology and the endocrine system. I don't know who recommended Steve to get on this diet or continue on it (for all we know he may, himself have wanted it) but the fact is, consuming sugar (exclusively) is not healthy at all.
I remember writing an email to sjobs@apple.com with my concern but it was probably too late by then.
https://carcinoid.wordpress.com/tag/dr-anthony-heaney/
It's pretty simple if one understands the basic mechanism of human physiology and the endocrine system. I don't know who recommended Steve to get on this diet or continue on it (for all we know he may, himself have wanted it) but the fact is, consuming sugar (exclusively) is not healthy at all.
I remember writing an email to sjobs@apple.com with my concern but it was probably too late by then.
Which meant that he ate everything except meat with the exception of fish. Such a diet can include plenty of fruit.
There was a study done a few years ago indicating a link between high sugar intake and increased risk for pancreatic cancer.
...or might not...
So do we know that his diet included a huge amount of fruit? Is this nothing more than speculation?
That's not how it works. It's up to the person making the crazy claim to prove it. If I said I'm watching football with a Martian, it's up to me to prove I'm not full of crap; it's not up to you to disprove it.
Can't you look it up? Many links showing where he himself stated he was a fruitarian.
I can find some links that he says he was a fruitarian for a short period of time in the 70s. Maybe that was a contributing factor after all. I would have thought it would be a more widespread issue if there was a direct cause.
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Steve Jobs was born February 24, 1955, to two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave him up for adoption. Smart but directionless, Jobs experimented with different pursuits before starting Apple Computers with Stephen Wozniak in the Jobs' family garage. Apple's revolutionary products, which include the iPod, iPhone and iPad, are now seen as dictating the evolution of modern technology.
CONTENTS
Synopsis
Early Life
Apple Computers
Departure from Apple
Reinventing Apple
Pancreatic Cancer
Recent Innovations
Personal Life
Final Years
QUOTES
I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.
Steve Jobs
Early Life
Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave their unnamed son up for adoption. His father, Abdulfattah Jandali, was a Syrian political science professor and his mother, Joanne Simpson, worked as a speech therapist. Shortly after Steve was placed for adoption, his biological parents married and had another child, Mona Simpson. It was not until Jobs was 27 that he was able to uncover information on his biological parents.
As an infant, Steven was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs and named Steven Paul Jobs. Clara worked as an accountant and Paul was a Coast Guard veteran and machinist. The family lived in Mountain View within California's Silicon Valley. As a boy, Jobs and his father would work on electronics in the family garage. Paul would show his son how to take apart and reconstruct electronics, a hobby which instilled confidence, tenacity, and mechanical prowess in young Jobs.
While Jobs has always been an intelligent and innovative thinker, his youth was riddled with frustrations over formal schooling. In elementary school he was a prankster whose fourth grade teacher needed to bribe him to study. Jobs tested so well, however, that administrators wanted to skip him ahead to high schoola proposal his parents declined.
After he did enroll in high school, Jobs spent his free time at Hewlett-Packard. It was there that he befriended computer club guru Steve Wozniak. Wozniak was a brilliant computer engineer, and the two developed great respect for one another.
Apple Computers
After high school, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Lacking direction, he dropped out of college after six months and spent the next 18 months dropping in on creative classes. Jobs later recounted how one course in calligraphy developed his love of typography.
In 1974, Jobs took a position as a video game designer with Atari. Several months later he left Atari to find spiritual enlightenment in India, traveling the continent and experimenting with psychedelic drugs. In 1976, when Jobs was just 21, he and Wozniak started Apple Computers. The duo started in the Jobs family garage, and funded their entrepreneurial venture after Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak sold his beloved scientific calculator.
Jobs and Wozniak are credited with revolutionizing the computer industry by democratizing the technology and making the machines smaller, cheaper, intuitive, and accessible to everyday consumers. The two conceived a series of user-friendly personal computers that they initially marketed for $666.66 each. Their first model, the Apple I, earned them $774,000. Three years after the release of their second model, the Apple II, sales increased 700 percent to $139 million dollars. In 1980, Apple Computer became a publically traded company with a market value of $1.2 billion on the very first day of trading. Jobs looked to marketing expert John Scully of Pepsi-Cola to help fill the role of Apple's President.
Departure from Apple
However, the next several products from Apple suffered significant design flaws resulting in recalls and consumer disappointment. IBM suddenly surpassed Apple sales, and Apple had to compete with an IBM/PC dominated business world. In 1984 Apple released the Macintosh, marketing the computer as a piece of a counter culture lifestyle: romantic, youthful, creative. But despite positive sales and performance superior to IBM's PCs, the Macintosh was still not IBM compatible. Scully believed Jobs was hurting Apple, and executives began to phase him out.
In 1985, Jobs resigned as Apple's CEO to begin a new hardware and software company called NeXT, Inc. The following year Jobs purchased an animation company from George Lucas, which later became Pixar Animation Studios. Believing in Pixar's potential, Jobs initially invested $50 million of his own money into the company. Pixar Studios went on to produce wildly popular animation films such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Pixar's films have netted $4 billion. The studio merged with Walt Disney in 2006, making Steve Jobs Disney's largest shareholder.
Reinventing Apple
Despite Pixar's success, NeXT, Inc. floundered in its attempts to sell its specialized operating system to mainstream America. Apple eventually bought the company in 1997 for $429 million. That same year, Jobs returned to his post as Apple's CEO.
Much like Steve Jobs instigated Apple's success in the 1970s, he is credited with revitalizing the company in the 1990s. With a new management team, altered stock options, and a self-imposed annual salary of $1 a year, Jobs put Apple back on track. His ingenious products such as the iMac, effective branding campaigns, and stylish designs caught the attention of consumers once again.
Pancreatic Cancer
In 2003, Jobs discovered he had a neuroendocrine tumor, a rare but operable form of pancreatic cancer. Instead of immediately opting for surgery, Jobs chose to alter his pescovegetarian diet while weighing Eastern treatment options. For nine months Jobs postponed surgery, making Apple's board of directors nervous. Executives feared that shareholders would pull their stocks if word got out that their CEO was ill. But in the end, Job's confidentiality took precedence over shareholder disclosure. In 2004, he had a successful surgery to remove the pancreatic tumor. True to form, in subsequent years Jobs disclosed little about his health.
Recent Innovations
Apple introduced such revolutionary products as the Macbook Air, iPod, and iPhone, all of which have dictated the evolution of modern technology. Almost immediately after Apple releases a new product, competitors scramble to produce comparable technologies. In 2007, Apple's quarterly reports were the company's most impressive statistics to date. Stocks were worth a record-breaking $199.99 a share, and the company boasted a staggering $1.58 billion dollar profit, an $18 billion dollar surplus in the bank, and zero debt.
In 2008, iTunes became the second biggest music retailer in America-second only to Wal-Mart. Half of Apple's current revenue comes from iTunes and iPod sales, with 200 million iPods sold and six billion songs downloaded. For these reasons, Apple has been rated No. 1 in America's Most Admired Companies, and No. 1 amongst Fortune 500 companies for returns to shareholders.
Personal Life
Early in 2009, reports circulated about Jobs' weight loss, some predicting his health issues had returned, which included a liver transplant. Jobs had responded to these concerns by stating he was dealing with a hormone imbalance. After nearly a year out of the spotlight, Steve Jobs delivered a keynote address at an invite-only Apple event September 9, 2009.
In respect to his personal life, Steve Jobs remained a private man who rarely discloses information about his family. What is known is Jobs fathered a daughter with girlfriend Chrisann Brennan when he was 23. Jobs denied paternity of his daughter Lisa in court documents, claiming he was sterile. Jobs did not initiate a relationship with his daughter until she was 7 but, when she was a teenager, she came to live with her father.
In the early 1990s, Jobs met Laurene Powell at Stanford business school, where Powell was an MBA student. They married on March 18, 1991, and lived together in Palo Alto, California, with their three children.
Final Years
On October 5, 2011, Apple Inc. announced that co-founder Steve Jobs had died. He was 56 years old at the time of his death.
Steve Jobs was born February 24, 1955, to two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave him up for adoption. Smart but directionless, Jobs experimented with different pursuits before starting Apple Computers with Stephen Wozniak in the Jobs' family garage. Apple's revolutionary products, which include the iPod, iPhone and iPad, are now seen as dictating the evolution of modern technology.
CONTENTS
Synopsis
Early Life
Apple Computers
Departure from Apple
Reinventing Apple
Pancreatic Cancer
Recent Innovations
Personal Life
Final Years
QUOTES
I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.
Steve Jobs
Early Life
Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave their unnamed son up for adoption. His father, Abdulfattah Jandali, was a Syrian political science professor and his mother, Joanne Simpson, worked as a speech therapist. Shortly after Steve was placed for adoption, his biological parents married and had another child, Mona Simpson. It was not until Jobs was 27 that he was able to uncover information on his biological parents.
As an infant, Steven was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs and named Steven Paul Jobs. Clara worked as an accountant and Paul was a Coast Guard veteran and machinist. The family lived in Mountain View within California's Silicon Valley. As a boy, Jobs and his father would work on electronics in the family garage. Paul would show his son how to take apart and reconstruct electronics, a hobby which instilled confidence, tenacity, and mechanical prowess in young Jobs.
While Jobs has always been an intelligent and innovative thinker, his youth was riddled with frustrations over formal schooling. In elementary school he was a prankster whose fourth grade teacher needed to bribe him to study. Jobs tested so well, however, that administrators wanted to skip him ahead to high schoola proposal his parents declined.
After he did enroll in high school, Jobs spent his free time at Hewlett-Packard. It was there that he befriended computer club guru Steve Wozniak. Wozniak was a brilliant computer engineer, and the two developed great respect for one another.
Apple Computers
After high school, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Lacking direction, he dropped out of college after six months and spent the next 18 months dropping in on creative classes. Jobs later recounted how one course in calligraphy developed his love of typography.
In 1974, Jobs took a position as a video game designer with Atari. Several months later he left Atari to find spiritual enlightenment in India, traveling the continent and experimenting with psychedelic drugs. In 1976, when Jobs was just 21, he and Wozniak started Apple Computers. The duo started in the Jobs family garage, and funded their entrepreneurial venture after Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak sold his beloved scientific calculator.
Jobs and Wozniak are credited with revolutionizing the computer industry by democratizing the technology and making the machines smaller, cheaper, intuitive, and accessible to everyday consumers. The two conceived a series of user-friendly personal computers that they initially marketed for $666.66 each. Their first model, the Apple I, earned them $774,000. Three years after the release of their second model, the Apple II, sales increased 700 percent to $139 million dollars. In 1980, Apple Computer became a publically traded company with a market value of $1.2 billion on the very first day of trading. Jobs looked to marketing expert John Scully of Pepsi-Cola to help fill the role of Apple's President.
Departure from Apple
However, the next several products from Apple suffered significant design flaws resulting in recalls and consumer disappointment. IBM suddenly surpassed Apple sales, and Apple had to compete with an IBM/PC dominated business world. In 1984 Apple released the Macintosh, marketing the computer as a piece of a counter culture lifestyle: romantic, youthful, creative. But despite positive sales and performance superior to IBM's PCs, the Macintosh was still not IBM compatible. Scully believed Jobs was hurting Apple, and executives began to phase him out.
In 1985, Jobs resigned as Apple's CEO to begin a new hardware and software company called NeXT, Inc. The following year Jobs purchased an animation company from George Lucas, which later became Pixar Animation Studios. Believing in Pixar's potential, Jobs initially invested $50 million of his own money into the company. Pixar Studios went on to produce wildly popular animation films such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Pixar's films have netted $4 billion. The studio merged with Walt Disney in 2006, making Steve Jobs Disney's largest shareholder.
Reinventing Apple
Despite Pixar's success, NeXT, Inc. floundered in its attempts to sell its specialized operating system to mainstream America. Apple eventually bought the company in 1997 for $429 million. That same year, Jobs returned to his post as Apple's CEO.
Much like Steve Jobs instigated Apple's success in the 1970s, he is credited with revitalizing the company in the 1990s. With a new management team, altered stock options, and a self-imposed annual salary of $1 a year, Jobs put Apple back on track. His ingenious products such as the iMac, effective branding campaigns, and stylish designs caught the attention of consumers once again.
Pancreatic Cancer
In 2003, Jobs discovered he had a neuroendocrine tumor, a rare but operable form of pancreatic cancer. Instead of immediately opting for surgery, Jobs chose to alter his pescovegetarian diet while weighing Eastern treatment options. For nine months Jobs postponed surgery, making Apple's board of directors nervous. Executives feared that shareholders would pull their stocks if word got out that their CEO was ill. But in the end, Job's confidentiality took precedence over shareholder disclosure. In 2004, he had a successful surgery to remove the pancreatic tumor. True to form, in subsequent years Jobs disclosed little about his health.
Recent Innovations
Apple introduced such revolutionary products as the Macbook Air, iPod, and iPhone, all of which have dictated the evolution of modern technology. Almost immediately after Apple releases a new product, competitors scramble to produce comparable technologies. In 2007, Apple's quarterly reports were the company's most impressive statistics to date. Stocks were worth a record-breaking $199.99 a share, and the company boasted a staggering $1.58 billion dollar profit, an $18 billion dollar surplus in the bank, and zero debt.
In 2008, iTunes became the second biggest music retailer in America-second only to Wal-Mart. Half of Apple's current revenue comes from iTunes and iPod sales, with 200 million iPods sold and six billion songs downloaded. For these reasons, Apple has been rated No. 1 in America's Most Admired Companies, and No. 1 amongst Fortune 500 companies for returns to shareholders.
Personal Life
Early in 2009, reports circulated about Jobs' weight loss, some predicting his health issues had returned, which included a liver transplant. Jobs had responded to these concerns by stating he was dealing with a hormone imbalance. After nearly a year out of the spotlight, Steve Jobs delivered a keynote address at an invite-only Apple event September 9, 2009.
In respect to his personal life, Steve Jobs remained a private man who rarely discloses information about his family. What is known is Jobs fathered a daughter with girlfriend Chrisann Brennan when he was 23. Jobs denied paternity of his daughter Lisa in court documents, claiming he was sterile. Jobs did not initiate a relationship with his daughter until she was 7 but, when she was a teenager, she came to live with her father.
In the early 1990s, Jobs met Laurene Powell at Stanford business school, where Powell was an MBA student. They married on March 18, 1991, and lived together in Palo Alto, California, with their three children.
Final Years
On October 5, 2011, Apple Inc. announced that co-founder Steve Jobs had died. He was 56 years old at the time of his death.
Excellent suggestion.
I'm not a doctor or nurse, but have some awareness (I have a degree in physiology and worked for a decade in the research department of one of the premiere teaching hospitals in the US).
An earlier comment talked about "assisted suicide" like it was an active decision from the caregivers.
If you've never been in such a situation, think about the wider picture.
- your loved one is dying - there is no hope, and the doctors only slightly differ on their estimates of the number of days left
- reread the first bullet - it's key
- without a constant morphine drip, your loved one is in obvious pain - perhaps s/he isn't conscious to complain, but the pain is apparent
- each day, more morphine is needed to avoid the pain - even though too much morphine can suppress functions like breathing
- reread the first bullet - it's key
- after a short period of increasing doses of morphine, breathing becomes irregular and stops
This is not "assisted suicide" - it's making a choice between your loved one dying peacefully or in agony. You go for "peaceful" even if "agony" would have kept them alive a couple of days longer.
Last year my mother died from an extremely aggressive bout of lung cancer (25 years after she quit smoking). It was less than 3 weeks from her first clinical symptom to the funeral. The last 5 days were in home hospice care, and my sisters and I were doing much of the care - including controlling the morphine drip. Early in the morning of the fifth day, her breathing became irregular - then stopped.
Reread the first bullet - it's key.
When there is no hope - the best alternative is to alleviate the pain, even if that means that the date/time on the death certificate is a bit sooner.
...excuse me - I need to grab a tissue to dry the tears.
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He got the surgery that was recommended. That was the "scientific" treatment. He lived another 7 years afterward. Don't be such an ass.
My mother died the same way two years ago from ovarian cancer. It may seem cruel but it really is the best way for the the patient.
But now I'm laughing because people are down-voting my post. (It was -3 when I wrote this)
Thank you for uplifting my spirits!