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October 25th, 2011
12:27 PM ET
Steve Jobs: A difficult patientAll those vague statements about his health that Steve Jobs put out in the last few years caused endless speculation, as the world tried to read into what could really be going on. But now, with the biography "Steve Jobs" with Walter Isaacson, we know that behind many of those optimistic statements was a cancer that was spreading from pancreas to liver, and finally to bones and elsewhere in the body. One of the biggest surprises is that while he received state of the art medical care, he went against doctors' orders many times. When his pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor was first discovered in October 2003, doctors said he was lucky that it had been detected so early, and it could be removed before definitely spreading. But, in Jobs' own words, "I really didn't want them to open up my body, so I tried to see if a few other things would work." Those "other things" included a strict vegan diet, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and other alternative techniques - even consulting a psychic. His family pleaded with him, but it wasn't until June 2004, when a CAT scan revealed that the tumor had grown and perhaps spread, that he had to realize he couldn't successfully will his own cancer treatment. The surgery in July 2004 involved a modified Whipple procedure, removing part of the pancreas. But it wasn't a cure: Doctors found cancer spread to three spots on his liver during the operation. It's impossible to know whether having the surgery sooner would have removed the cancer before it had spread. Yet Jobs told everyone he had been "cured." In his famous 2005 Stanford Commencement speech, a rare moment of being forthcoming about his cancer to the public, he said "I had the surgery and I'm fine now." Jobs also went against doctors' orders with his eating habits. Since he was a teenager, Jobs had practiced strange routines involving fasting, and would go on obsessive diets. That's a problem because, the stomach needs enzymes to digest food and absorb nutrients, making it harder for patients who've had pancreas surgery to get enough protein. The standard of care is to have frequent meals and a diet with a variety of proteins from meats, fish and milk. But, as Isaacson points out, "Jobs had never done this, and he never would." Flash forward to 2008, when Jobs and his doctors knew the cancer was spreading. Besides being in pain, Jobs was losing a lot of weight. This was partly a result of the partial Whipple procedure, partly because his appetite was reduced because of cancer and morphine, and also because he insisted on the same restrictive diets and fasts he'd practiced since his teenage years. Sometimes he would spend weeks only eating something like apples, or a carrot salad with lemon, and then abruptly denounce that food. Isaacson writes:
In a public statement he attributed his weight loss to "a hormone imbalance that has been robbing me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis. The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple." We all had speculations, but what that actually meant was: Jobs had a hormone imbalance because his cancer had spread to his liver. He underwent a liver transplant in 2009, when his health was declining rapidly. It was successful, but doctors found that there were tumors throughout the organ, meaning the cancer had probably spread elsewhere. They also found spots on the thin membrane surrounding internal organs. Jobs again went against doctors when he insisted that they not pump out his stomach when they needed to perform a routine procedure. That led to pneumonia, and he might have died. But he survived, and didn't lose his stubbornness, even while deeply sedated. He thought the oxygen monitor on his finger was "ugly and too complex," and offered ideas for making the design simpler. His health and spirits appeared to improve after the transplant, but in November 2010 he experienced another downturn. He was a mere 115 pounds at Christmas. Doctors saw evidence of new tumors. "Every inch of his body felt like it had been punched, he told friends," Isaacson writes. And his dietary finickiness continued. The family had a part-time cook who made him a variety of healthy options, but he would refuse them after merely touching one or two to his tongue. Cancer curbs appetite, but Isaacson suggests Jobs had a deeper complication from his psychological attitude toward food. He took a third medical leave in January 2011. Jobs was among the first 20 people in the world to have a complete sequencing of all of the genes of his cancer tumor, and of his normal DNA. In this way, his medical team could choose specific drugs targeted at the molecular pathways that were promoting the abnormal growth of cancer cells. "I'm either going to be one of the first to be able to outrun a cancer like this, or I'm going to be one of the last to die from it," Jobs told Isaacson. In July 2011, however, doctors had trouble pushing back against the cancer even with targeted drugs. Jobs had stopped going to work; he was in pain, couldn't eat most solid food, and passed many days watching TV. When Jobs announced his resignation as Apple's CEO at the board meeting on August 24, the cancer had spread to his bones and other body parts. "I've had a very lucky career, a very lucky life," he told Isaacson. "I've done all that I can do."
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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I cannot stand listening about this guy anymore. And yes, I'm a mac user, an iPhone user, and an iPad user – but Jobs was an eccentric, nutty, rude individual who believed his vision above all else.
He made terrible decisions based on his lack of knowledge about science. He was truthfully and willfully ignorant as a result of having no foundation whatsoever in the sciences. Jobs himself made it pretty clear during his outsider college career, when he dropped out, he continued attending only those classes he was interested in. And he did the same thing with everything else in life.
He wasn't a genius. He was a man who had a vision about technological world made up of an ecosystem of devices – nothing more than that. The geniuses are the guys writing code day in and out to make iTunes and the rest of the ecosystem what it is. Without them, Jobs would be imagining that world eternally since he had no talent, neither the education to code.
Thank you!
Steve chose the motto "Think different" for his company. His very nature was to *not* accept the standard MO, and to think through problems, coming up with unconventional solutions. And he was extremely successful at it. Why should the author of this article find it "one of the biggest surprises" that Steve went against standard doctor's orders when he was diagnosed? Quite the opposite, I'd find it odd and shocking if Steve had suddenly abandoned that integral part of his nature the moment he was told he was sick. He tackled the disease as he did any other problem: On his own terms, experimenting with his own solutions rather than others', and ready to accept the success or failure of that choice.
Yes, and just like his business accomplishments, he successfully died.
Think different? Whatever. Like a great many CEOs and business owners, Jobs had a massive egos – so massive that he thought he knew better than everyone around him, even his doctors. He paid for it with his life too. Derp.
The article goes on to state "he received state of the art medical care". He declined the advise of the BEST in the medical field. Okay, so he thought (multiple times) that he knew best than doctors with years of education and experience. We all know how well that worked for him. He was his own worst enemy when it came to his health.
Another victim of Church of Scientology
Yes Apple, that is true.....but he was good at what he was doing, his job, his career, his technology...but did he have an MD from a medical school??? At the end he had really no education or idea of what was going on with his body...he was successful and rich, but just a college drop out and that is it!! He killed himself....he should have thought about the pain his family was living through too, if he loved them.
Beautifully left his body behind,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Dude was CLEARLY in DENIAL
I agree. It was his nature.
No offense to doctors in general, but I've had test after test tell me my potassium level is low. I already knew this before the tests because of the symptoms. I tell my doctors the symptoms, and they order the tests. Surprised, they tell me my potassium is low. Fathom that... So they give me potassium supplements and continue the tests. Now, taking the supplements, sometimes it's normal, but usually it's still a bit low (but acceptable)... That's WITH the supplements, mind you. They still will not acknowledge that there's some kind of problem that's keeping the levels low. When they tell me to stop taking the supplements, I do... And guess what happens... I get the symptoms again, and the tests show my potassium level is low. After six months of this, I would think they would recognize that something is wrong, yet they're always surprised. Itn no that I think they don't know what they're doing. It's more like we don't get the individual attention that we need. I'm sure Jobs got very close attention, closer than what I experience. But the fact remains that experiences like mine can shake people's confidence in the medical establishment. Add to that Jobs' nature of thinking differently and trying his own approach, and I'm not a bit surprised that he did what he did. I'm not saying its right, just that I'm not surprised. He did what he believed was best. Unfortunately, he found out too late that it wasn't best.
Yea, well, when confronted with matters way out of your league (his medical diagnosis), common f'ing sense says you leave the decisions up to the experts and you put your life into their hands. Why did he go to them in the first place if he didn't want help? Why did he accept a liver transplant if he was so mighty as to 'fight this on his terms'? No, it IS shocking that a man so many consider "brilliant" could be so irreparably STUPID.
Oh, and by the way, there's really no need to be nasty (as some have). The guy died, and h is family is grieving. Think about how you'd feel if you lost a family member to cancer and then read remarks about your loved one like some of those in here.
Looks like its in some people's nature to be f*king rude (to use their abbreviations). Carma can be a real b-word... Hope they learn to be nice before it comes back around for them.
@InGA
You're an idiot. Successfully died like all his accomplishments? Your mother dies a little more every time you open your mouth. His accomplishments will live on and you'll sit in front of your computer uttering stupidity and trying to make a statement on forums to get a kick out of people. Sadly, you have no life. Get help retard.
He lived 8 years!!! If he had follwed medical advice he would have been dead in 6 months. Pancreatic cancer is the worst possible cancer to get.
He definitely thought different but he was a master of technology since he lived and breathed it. He was not a physician though. If we all did the same thing, we'd be dead alot sooner, too.
@eric
Poor little baby, I'm sorry you're hero died, but your mommy should have taught you some manners. Now go to bed like a good little boy.
Yup. Think different. It killed him.
He had the option to have surgery, he went against it. Yeah, you're right he lived on his own terms and now he's dead. The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is bad as at is, and he turns away treatment. Idiots, sheep, do not follow in this mans footsteps. If I ever became sick and there was a chance surgery could help, by all means do it. Forget personal conviction or trying to heal myself with herbs.
Yes Apple, and that is exactly the problem. Despite being so business smart, he was not humble enough to realize when it was time to let go of the steering wheel and let the real experts make decisions regarding his health. He might have died of this disease any way, however, there is no doubt that his arrogance had a lot to do with the way he dealt with it. He had so many people around him telling him how smart he was, it seems he concluded only he was qualified to make the right decisions, and that was a stupid mistake. That part must also be a part of the man's portrait, whether you like it or not.
With all due respect to the passionate responders here who characterize Steve choosing to not follow the traditional cancer treatment as "stupidity," two points: 1) Choosing what to do with your body is personal. Period. I personally wouldn't want others publicly judging something so personal - and at such a stressful time in one's life - and I similarly hope all of you are never judged. 2) My father actually had pancreatic cancer. Unlike Steve, he followed the prescribed protocol to the letter (at Sloane Kettering). From diagnosis to death, it was 3 months. Not years, months. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly cancers. Frankly if the "smart" (traditional) way to treat it has a 95% failure rate, I for one certainly can't fault someone for opting to try something else.
On the upside, maybe now Apple will stop trying to control MY Iphone and what I do with it.
Wow – youre dumb!!
Curiously,,what have yo done?
The more I read and hear about Steve Jobs, the more he looks like a great person in business decisions and innovations, but on a more personal level he REALLY comes across as being a real d!ck. I don't care how much money you have, what technology you brought to the world, if you ain't a nice person from inside and out you're a piece of chit!
He definitely was arrogant. I feel sorry for his family having to deal with all the extra stress from his arrogant. Sad
This is his life,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you can not duplicate it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
What the hell is this? Grammar school?
No. When sharing thoughts and opinions (having a discussion) with others, it helps to use proper grammar.
Most geniuses are eccentrics, and or suffer from phobias, sleep disorders,paranoia,and a number of other issues.
Thank you, O Wise One – please pour more of your wisdom on us mere mortals.
He aint no genius. Maybe Wozniak was genius. Jobs was just being skillful at getting things in the way he wanted.
But luckily not every genius has to be stubborn. When doctors told Einstein to quit smoking his pipe if he wanted to live longer, Einstein stopped smoking it. It made him sad but he complied.
@Dr Frankenstein...Ok so Sean is dumb and I am too full of wisdom for you.Do you actally have an opinion regarding this article, or just opinions of people? And Jay...he sure was a genius in many ways. You are just a hater.
i guess his doctors aren't that visionary and genius to convince him enough to open up his body and prevent his selfish death.
Some of you smartass rocket scientists are contending that living 8 years with a permanent and incurable disease was a failure. I'm sure that when it befalls you that you'll do far better.
Cancer is neither permanent nor incurable, unless you elect to ignore everything a team of doctors advises you to do.
You are basically making the argument that medical care is completely worthless. Good luck with that ridiculous argument troll.
The kind of pancreatic cancer that Jobs had is not the kind that kills you in 6 months. That's adenocarcinoma. Jobs had pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma which is different and has a better prognosis.
What an idiot, he basically killed himself not following doctors orders and thinking a vegan, vegetarian diet was healthy, it's the MOST unhealthy way to eat! A person's body NEEDS dairy and protein, meat and beans, fish and fruits and veggies, nuts, olive oil, green tea, ALL of it balanced, organic with NO chemicals and pesticides, only grass-fed meats, NO: sodas, candy, fast foods, chips, junk, coffee, pasta, white starchy stuff, no corn, no soy, ALL unhealthy, we don't touch any of it. I ONLY cook this way for my family and this is the only way we eat, teenagers included, they have no desire to eat man-made crap...none of us are ever sick, ever. What a fool he was, with a smart brain like that and he basically made poor decisions and killed himself.
what an idiot!
Wise pontificators here contend that Jobs' obstinacy was his downfall. That he operated in denial and screwed himself over.
To those who are Holier than He was, I suggest that you elect to receive every surgical procedure you every have an opportunity to experience. And forget about expense too – just charge it off to Obamacase.
Your argument would make sense if you weren't going to such an extreme. No one is wise to reject the advice of numerous oncologists when there is no evidence to suggest that the alternative course would work at all.
And I fail to see what this has to do with 'Obamacare'...sounds like a desperate reach on your part. There's no need to inject silly partisanship into your argument.
It just goes to show you that even really smart people can do really dumb things, and worse, do really dumb things over and over and refuse to learn from the mistake.
Ego made him successful, but ego made him die young. That is really the true tragedy of his story.
True that Easy E, true that.
He was simply too proud of himself.
Come on,,,not that too proud,,,,,,,,,,,
its called arrogants.
Thank you. He is an interesting patient.
Someone needs to teach grammar, spelling ETC. people seem not understand.
good,,,that's called international,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I don't believe the the biography "Steve Jobs" with Walter Isaacson, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it's not written by Steve
good night again,,,,,,,,,, 🙂
good night again,,,,,,,,,, 🙂
I'm sure that since he was wealthy he would expect to be able to do what he wanted, when he wanted and if he wanted.
Typical of any rich guy. He's the same as every other dead person now, anyway.
I totally understood his behavior. This is the person walk for 4 miles for food ( Hare Rama place ) ,slept on the floors of student housing. Grew up as orphan . This is one of the reasons , he doesn't believe in charities who pay the big bucks to their CEO and their staff anyways. You all could make comments because your daddy and mummy still pampers you even after your 20s. He must have see the stupidity of some doctor's advice.
Oh good, another article about Steve Jobs. It's been far too long.
Cancer is just a name that doctors use because they don't know why it happens and how it is cured. Steve Jobs might be right that if you control your current weaknesses in your body (e.g a weak immune system ) you might as well fight the cancer (again just a name) and come out healthy. Remember that nature provides you immune system to fight any deceases.
Such a waste, spending years in medical school when they could have just asked some sap on the Internet to make up some junk instead.
Cancer is not just a word. It is a specific biological term for a specific phenomenon. Bu congratulations on taking willful ignorance of science to new heights.
"Since he was a teenager, Jobs had practiced strange routines involving fasting, and would go on obsessive diets."
Hmm, interesting observation. Seems to me that Steve Jobs had an eating disorder; anorexia, to be more precise (I get a kick out of the media calling it a "strange routine"). That would explain the narcissism aspect of his personality, seeing how he was completely obsessed with himself and had a warped perception of it, which is the case with most people with eating disorders. It also shows that Steve Jobs did not do what was in the best interest of his family, who pleaded with him.
anorexia is usually a manifestation of a control disorder. It's unlikely he had full-blown anorexia, but it was probably control-issue related.
why is he still in the news
better people are around to cover
Proverbs 16:18 (Pride and Arrogance)
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
It's disgusting that the media and world enjoy reading such negative articles about someone that just died.This man has a family. Have a heart people and keep your negative comments or articles to yourself. Steve Jobs was also a genius. We should all celebrate his life instead of crap on it.
Proving yet again he wasn't a "genius" in the true sense of the word. He was mostly lucky. His greatest asset was his unshakable egomania and relentless image building and self promotion.
Jobs did not take care of his health. So, in the end: " YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW".
State of the art treatment on a person with a mind of a 20 yr. old kid. Thought he was indestructable!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting, how we seem to view Job's life-value. From the comments here, we form two major camps – one applauding what his vision produced technologically, the other deriding him for an apparent lack of it on the personal front. He was very good at seeing what COULD be. Maybe not so great at seeing what WAS.
Either way – or both ways – he provided a major push forward in human communication through equipment. I hope (and suspect) that the people who loved and lived with him recognized both his strengths and shortcomings. I wish he'd chosen a different medical route and lived longer. He didn't. But I don't begrudge him the decisions he did make. They were – and are – HIS decisions on HIS life. I wouldn't want anybody else messing with mine, either.
I think a take-away lesson is that organ-transplant teams need to re-evaluate their methods for approving transplants of the super-wealthy. A patient who had previously and repeatedly refused to follow medical advice, with cancer that had spread to additional organs should never have been granted a transplant. What a shame, that organ could have been given to someone who would have followed doctors' orders.
This book has all the markings of an editorialized, much-fictionalized and dramatized, UN-authorized biography. From some of the hoopla and PR-produced "news stories" that have already come out, I don't believe a d@mn word of it. The "writer" has injected much of his own personal biases into it. I'm a decades-long Apple user and Jobs appreciator, but I won't stoop to Isaacson's low level and read one more word of it.
Wow. The more I read about him the more he just sounds like a stubborn, spoiled azzhole. "I can tell YOU how to treat cancer. I can tell YOU how to build a better oxygen monitor." Having to constantly prove his worth to people by telling them that he was better than they were sure sounds like he had a low self image. And that self hate probably fed the cancer.
Just goes to show you can be brilliant at many things but an idiot at others. Look at where all the new age crap medicine got him.
There is no such things as luck brother! Love God. Love People. God bless.
Brilliant on one hand, the other hand balancing his out of control ego, arrogance and foul personality. What a jerk.. not a sensitive bone in his body to anyone or any thing.
I have very high regard for Dr. Gupta as a medical journalist. Nevertheless, his description of Jobs' "obsessive diets" is a common misuse of the clincial meaning of "obsessive." No doubt Jobs' diets were compulsive, but not obsessive.
He was the ultimate inventor of our time. And if you look back over time, the inventors of the past were also eccentric or had grating personalities. Pancreatic cancer is deadly-no one can say for sure that his eight month delay would have saved him. He also said basically he had a wonderful life. As time drew to a close on him, maybe he reconciled things within himself. Fact is you go out of this world alone, some suddenly, and some with time to think.
Who in their right mind would think that a vegan diet or herbal remedies would help fight cancer? Time to put all these false claims to bed. They don't work!
These wicked comments, some clever, some mean are seemingly more entertaining a read than the Job's biography. The excerpt on his illness, however was pretty sad. He probably knew he was dying and how scary is that? Moreso, to be so very ill that you cannot eat or enjoy a quality day is very sad. Had he went ahead with an earlier surgery, might or might not have made a difference. Clearly he suffered and I am sure it was a horror for his family. One look at him before he officially announced his retirement and one had to know that the clock was merely ticking on his demise. His quality of life obviously was not there. All of the money and fame in the world and does little good when you are riddled with cancer. Tragic, really.
Daniel says ", but just a college drop out and that is it!", Another brain washed fool. How are those school loans treating you? I am sure they aren't making you $7 billion plus! Or a successful marriage! Or another other accomplishments other than being a slave to your underpaid job.
Wow, Steve Jobs was stubborn? I'm shocked. I totally wouldn't have expected this from the man who said 'well don't hold it that way'.
Steve was successful because he excelled in a niche aspect and it paid off big. But his ego was surely part of both his business and personal life. He was known to make more than one team for big projects without each knowing they were working on the same thing, before he would butcher one off to his dissatisfaction. If you want to learn a little more about the man, I reccomend watching the movie 'Pirates of Silicon Valley'.
i can understand the strong urge of an individual to dodge the considerably long and painful treatment of chemo for cancer treatment. it is not clear whether jobs had the best advice for alternative medicine treatment, however. it seems from the article that he merely tried what came to his mind. alternative medicine is not vodoo medicine; it is rooted in well learned practice, and there are highly accomplished physicians or healers in those disciplines.
So he didn't die of respiratory failure, it was his massive ego that led to his untimely demise.
LOL
Dear Apple Fans – He did not invent anything. You are essentially all morning the death of Billy Mays, except this "pitchman" was better at tricking you. "Here's a new device I call a POS. It has 1GB ram and you can take it anywhere. 6 months later..here is the new POS still with 1GB of ram but it has a camera and comes in white." In closing, you are all morons overpaying for products that on a different os (think windows) wouldn't even cost half.
Morning or Mourning? Is English not your first language?
Actually it's not, you bigot.
"Flash forward"
??????????
Believe you mean "Fast Forward" ..
Holy hell take a second to proof read ffs
I don't know why I bother posting, because it's obvious that the average IQ of this lot is pretty low. What a bunch of judgmental, callous, know-it-alls. Let me drop some knowledge on you thick skulled, inconsiderate hobos. The 5 year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 4%. He wasn't expected to live any longer than he did. Now go pray to your gods of modern medicine, and yell from the rooftops exaltations of their greatness. Doctors know no more about cancer or heart disease than me. I don't have a PHD, but I can tell you it has more to do about what you eat, what you avoid and how lucky you are to not be contaminated by toxic chemicals. However, if you go to the doctor weighing 300 pounds, they'll try to push the newest drug on you. If you have high blood pressure, don't worry about your diet, just eat this new drug which we have NO clue of the true side affects. Could he have lived a couple years longer? Sure, but cancer had him dead to rights, and no amount of Doctors or speculation would have given him more than 10 years.
We could have paid for research for this horrifying pancreatic cnacer, but Obama gave a half BILLION dollars to a solar compnay he was told, was going down the tubes. Talk about the DUMBING of our country.
He was so brilliant with technology, he thought he could be just as brilliant in curing his cancer, Such a shame. He was too young to die.