Steve Jobs' Resignation Not Indicative of Sudden Worsening of Health

[ZipZap]

Sad though it is...I suspect he is very ill.

His announcement is not surprising given the recent news of an autobiography coming shortly (and the fact that he authorized one).

I do wish him well and continue to pray for a recovery.

 

[kolax]

I think he wanted to step down before a sudden worsening of his health so he can still play a crucial role into shaping Tim Cook into the CEO he thinks would be the ideal successor to him.

I think Steve would hate to suddenly have a big health decline and no longer be able to aid his replacement CEO.

On a side note, I have full faith in Tim Cook to be an ideal replacement for Steve.

 

[Scarpad]

I never understood workoholics, I understand its his legacy, but I think if I had a limited amount of time I'd enjoy a little of that six billion with his family.

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I think he wanted to step down before a sudden worsening of his health so he can still play a crucial role into shaping Tim Cook into the CEO he thinks would be the ideal successor to him.

I think Steve would hate to suddenly have a big health decline and no longer be able to aid his replacement CEO.

On a side note, I have full faith in Tim Cook to be an ideal replacement for Steve.

He does seem to channel Steve on the announcements I've seen him make

 

[zub3qin]

As much as we don't want to believe it, this means that he is out of treatment options and has probably been told that he's got less than 24 months left. He wants to spend that time with his family and do what he can to protect Apple by separating the blow into two stages- this is stage 1. The resignation (which they've been planning for some time) was timed to minimize the impact. Apple is at an unprecedented level of strength and is on a trajectory to remain so for the next couple of years. This is the right time for stage 1, but stage 2 seems inevitable at this point. It's impossible to imaging an Apple without him, and it will not be the same. This strategy gives the world time to ponder that reality before (hopefully well before) it actually happens. Nothing lasts forever, but the tragedy is undeniable. It's time to start reflecting on his extraordinary impact and accomplishments.

This is all true except, sadly for the time frame. I have no direct knowledge but have some experience in this area. Most are pretty certain he has metastatic disease to the new liver which they have been trying to control. He went on his leave of absence to get aggressive treatment (i.e. chemo) to help control the recurrence..... hence his weakness and weight loss. His first statement said he was taking a medical leave of absence and "hoped to be back". Seven months later he has clearly taken a turn for the worse and cannot come back.

Seven months after aggressive treatment usually means that scans are showing the disease is exploding in the liver or even elsewhere, and they are largely out of options. While there may not be a "sudden worsening in health" as the article stated, there will very shortly be a rapid deterioration if the scans indeed show the above. Time frame? Who knows.... but I'd venture 4-6 months or less. And the final months are not very pleasant. Very sad.

Also, one study has shown that 80% of those like Jobs (who got transplant for neuroendocrine tumor) get tumor recurrence within 2 years. Jobs transplant was 2.5 years ago.

Of note, the 5-year survival for patients with islet-cell tumors that have surgery is less than 50%. Steve Jobs is now 8 years out from his diagnosis. He has been able to beat the odds but we all are human and wealth doesn't change outcome.

I just wanted to inject a bit of reality into this discussion--- as sad as it may be. We all wish him the best.

 

[jonnysods]

This just shows you how smart he is, and shows you how much he cares about the company. Rather than leave it until he dies one morning and the company is thrown into chaos, he puts his energy into transitioning and getting shareholders all safe and secure and he phases himself out.

Brilliant.

 

[*LTD*]

Not enough money spent on cancer research. Find a cure already.

Large doses daily of Chinese Tonic herbs (especially Reishi Mushroom) and cayenne pepper tincture along with conventional treatment.

But you have to start early enough.

 

[jaw04005]

He does seem to channel Steve on the announcements I've seen him make

He channels Steve during the conference calls for sure. It'll be interesting to see what they do this September. I can't imagine an Apple keynote for a major product without Steve Jobs.

 

[rsocal]

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It's a a very sad deal he's stepping down, I myself think he's the greatest mind for tech ever! The Stock will take a dive this morning but will go back up soon enough. Apple will be fine, Jobs didn't do it alone and I'm sure he's got the best minds creating what is Apple, and he's schooled these people to his standards so they can continue! The beat thing is, he's still there! The one thing of Steve Jobs that I hope can continue in somebody there is, the ability of vision, the vision of knowing what I want and how I want it to work.
It just seemed like Steve Jobs always new my taste and all of Apple's products are just how I would do it, the quality, simplicity and the feel are second to none!!!
Steve Jobs is and always be my Idol!!!
I'm so Glad he's going to still be a part of Apple!!!
Good Luck Steve and thanks for the amazing products you make for me!

 

[cosmichobo]

Apple came under heat recently (last year, whenever) for not releasing information about their CEO's health, yes?

Would the company's CEO's health also warrant disclosure?

 

[rdowns]

Apple came under heat recently (last year, whenever) for not releasing information about their CEO's health, yes?

Would the company's CEO's health also warrant disclosure?

The press gave Apple some heat over that but stockholders tried to get Apple to publicize their succession plan. Apple declined for obvious reasons.

 

[nylonsteel]

re original article

hope its true

probably a good thing you are scaling back a bit steve

 

[notjustjay]

I wish it were other, but I must agree with the above. It would be detrimental to business interests to be forthcoming about his health. It is very sad, but he does seem to be in a significantly declining state.

Of course, I wish him the best and hope some reduced business pressures allows him more time with his family and some time to enjoy his remaining time - however long that is.

Agreed. Here in Canada we're already sensitive to this because one of our prominent politicians, Jack Layton, died this week after stepping away from his duties as leader of the official opposition party (the NDP). He was also fighting cancer, had made a recovery, and then some undisclosed issue caused him to step away again. He spent his last days with his family and he even wrote a "goodbye" letter, which suggests that he knew his days were numbered His state funeral is this Saturday.

To see this announcement so soon after Jack's death, I'm sure every Canadian Apple fan was thinking, "Oh no, not again..."

 

[divinox]

i dont want to be "that guy", but unless im reading it wrong i have to state this:

Jobs coming back for a day, and attending a board meeting, seems more like farewell than stable health. Now, if the statement on the other hand wanted to indicate that it was business as usual the above doesnt matter ofc. but that is not how i read it.

 

[Racey99]

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Strange link, however this reminds me of the last days of Freddie Mercury. Freddie was a genius to music as Steve is a genius to, well, all things Apple !!

Freddie was very private til the end, only confirming the worst days before he passed away.

I sincerely hope this is not the case and Steve is showing us IPhone 8 in a few years ! I'm sure Tim is more than capable of running the company, however I don't think anyone has the charisma to make the keynotes like Steve does.

Good luck Steve - keep us enthralled for years to come !

 

[SockRolid]

Perfect timing

Steve and the Apple management team have had 7 years to plan the transition. They approached the problem the way they approach any problem: with intelligence and thoroughness.

Apple knew that Steve's resignation would overshadow any other story in the tech industry (and business in general). Best to introduce new products at least a month after the story breaks, to let it work its way through the media. August is typically a quiet month in terms of product announcements, and it happens to be exactly in the middle of CY Q3 (FY Q4 for Apple.) There's nothing like a solid quarter, after major management changes, to reassure investors.

Best of luck to Steve Jobs. He's changed the world. He deserves plenty of time to enjoy it.

 

[BarbaraNP]

we do not know what the health issue is...careful with your wording

I'm really glad to see this despite what his position in Apple is.

Hello, all
I see the word cancer bandied about too readily,in news media and here.
We do not fully know what has plagued Steve. However it is probabaly not adenocarcinoma of the pancreas or "pancreatic cancer". That diagnosis is terminal usually within a year at most two years.Rarely if found early it is curable . The press has referrd to a "rare form of pancreatic cancer" and that makes me think of are other chronic and creeping syndromes which affect organs such as liver and pancreas causing disability and eventually affecting longevity.Treatment for these syndromes can cause complications and add to the burden of the underlying syndrome.
Essentially we don't know Steve's health condition(s). Does it really matter?
Someone we all feel strongly about is ailing and we are anxious and sad noting that. Whathte ailment is does not matter.
We know that if medical scientific advance provide new treatments for whatever the problem(s) are,Steve will access those treatments.
We know that there are thousands,hundreds of thousands of Apple /Steve fans who are sending prayer and wishes for health to whatever higher power they trust. We should also think that this gigantic chorus will have an effect, too.

 

[URFloorMatt]

i dont want to be "that guy", but unless im reading it wrong i have to state this:

Jobs coming back for a day, and attending a board meeting, seems more like farewell than stable health. Now, if the statement on the other hand wanted to indicate that it was business as usual the above doesnt matter ofc. but that is not how i read it.

I agree with this. Being house ridden for several weeks and showing up at the office on your last day hardly seems indicative of a "stable" health situation. Now, if Jobs had been in the office all week and doing stuff, that might be different.

It is sad to think that Jobs may not see completion of the new spaceship campus. That, in many ways, seems like his send-off gift to Apple.

 

[sanford]

... cancer is mostly deadly, no matter what. The agressive kind does kill you within roughly half year after diagnosis. Another more mild variant might give you another 5 to 10 years more or less, but this requires perfect medical and surgical treatment. Steve Jobs seems to suffer from the more mild one, but metastatic growth seems to be back. There is only so much one can do, and he seems to run out of options.

He is dying, and this is very sad.

I haven't seen any viably sourced information that pancreatic cancer is still the issue here. I think the official word remains, he had it, it was successfully treated, it has not recurred. The issue has been, as far as I can tell from some fairly extensive reading, is that treatment for cancer damaged his liver so he eventually required a transplant. If he'd had a recurrence of the cancer prior to the transplant, I doubt he'd have qualified for the transplant; and with his liver in the shape it was in, I can't imagine it would have withstood treatment to put the cancer back in remission to qualify for the transplant.

I'm supposing it's still his liver, and all the systemic poor health that implies. Transplant outcomes are extremely variable. And if a transplant panel determines he would do no better with a second transplant, he won't qualify, or won't list high, for a second transplant because the thinking is, the healthy organ could go to someone who has a much greater chance of improve in quality and longevity of life.

Without being privy to his medical records, none of us can reasonably estimate his present quality of life or expected longevity. Permanent retirement from the day-to-day duties of CEO may be a move to extend his life by removing future stress from daily duties; and also it coming time to realize he can never fully return to those daily duties.

He's a private guy. Reasonably so. We'll know what we know only when he determines the public should be told.

 

[rotorblade69]

Maybe he has decided that their is no such thing as forever. Now he wants to do more with family but still sit on the sidelines and watch the fun.

Basically he's done all he wants to do and is ready for what dreams may come.

I have had the privilege to know such people. They go with grace and peace. Knowing they had accomplished what they wanted and needed to do, and left the business, family, or in one guys case the "Family Business" in good hands that would not waste or squander what he had spend years building.

Sometimes the next generation has to deal with the past generations mistakes and failures and have to fix them.
Steve has left things in good order and with people that will maintain good order.

 

[Dhelsdon]

Agreed. Here in Canada we're already sensitive to this because one of our prominent politicians, Jack Layton, died this week after stepping away from his duties as leader of the official opposition party (the NDP). He was also fighting cancer, had made a recovery, and then some undisclosed issue caused him to step away again. He spent his last days with his family and he even wrote a "goodbye" letter, which suggests that he knew his days were numbered His state funeral is this Saturday.

To see this announcement so soon after Jack's death, I'm sure every Canadian Apple fan was thinking, "Oh no, not again..."

Well put, I can agree fully, it was quite a shocker.. all I could think of was Steve's deteriorating health, and the resemblance of the situation with Jack Layton.

 

[BarbaraNP]

... cancer is mostly deadly, no matter what. The agressive kind does kill you within roughly half year after diagnosis. Another more mild variant might give you another 5 to 10 years more or less,

There is no mild version of pancreatic cancer. (adenocarcinoma), an exocrine tumor.This is the common type of "pancreatic cancer and it is quickly deadly.
"A rare cancer"as has been said in conjunction with Mr. Jobs makes me think that he has an endocrine cancer, often of the Islet cells in the pancreas. this is a slow growing neoplasm. These endocrine tumors heavily affect hormone release and that causes numerous symptoms affecting weight, energy etc.This type of pancreatic lesion is often part of a syndrome involving other organs, such as liver .
Can be very disabling, interfering with day to day functioning even if not a terminal condition.

 

[mactree]

Steve Jobs honestly is the reason I've been able to chase my dreams. I grew up in an 1980's mac household, playing with all the various tools the macintosh gave me, which in turn allowed me to easily take on more and more sophisticated software as the years rolled on.

As a kid you would see Apple computers in movies, and although the majority of those films weren't done using Mac computers, it was one in the same to a kid watching them. Mac computers helped run Jurassic Park for heaven sakes! I was sold!

Thank you for giving me my career Steve! God Bless You!

 

[FrogProf]

Thanks for the gentle yet clear and logical analysis

I watched both my parents and my best friend die of cancer (pancreatic, bladder, and brain). It's a terrible disease. I don't want to be "that girl" either, but everything you wrote here rings true with my experience and correlates with the facts we do know.

I jumped ship to the Mac side in 1997, just in time for the last days of System 7, and my very first Mac was a Bondi blue iMac. Somehow, I never thought this day would come. Thoughts and prayers to you, Steve.

This is all true except, sadly for the time frame. I have no direct knowledge but have some experience in this area. Most are pretty certain he has metastatic disease to the new liver which they have been trying to control. He went on his leave of absence to get aggressive treatment (i.e. chemo) to help control the recurrence..... hence his weakness and weight loss. His first statement said he was taking a medical leave of absence and "hoped to be back". Seven months later he has clearly taken a turn for the worse and cannot come back.

....................................................

I just wanted to inject a bit of reality into this discussion--- as sad as it may be. We all wish him the best.

 

[printery]

Steve

Hope the best of health for you... You are one of my heroes...

 

[SD-B]

He has apparently been housebound for months only stepping out one time to have dinner with Obama.

I saw a video shot of him about 6 months ago coming out of his doctors office and he was a bit unsteady on his feet and extremely weak.

I find many Apple users in denial about his health. I wish him the best whatever the outcome but sad, very sad, nevertheless