Steve Jobs Health Worries Escalate

PolygamousRanchKid writes with this sad snippet from the San Francisco Chronicle: "We all know that Steve Jobs is sick. What's not known is how sick he is, and that's worrying investors of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) this morning, as well as everyone else. Jobs did have pancreatic cancer a few years ago, but he had a transplant and was able to come back to work. Last time, he gave some kind of time frame for returning to work. This time, he did not. Supposedly the National Enquirer is set to run pictures of Jobs with him looking frail and gaunt. Jobs was spotted leaving the Stanford Cancer Center in Palo Alto, California, according to RadarOnline.com."

Comments

who cares

[Anonymous Coward]

who cares? let the man live his own life

Re:who cares

[Tanktalus]

I'm not sure why this is marked troll. Seriously, let's keep peoples' private lives private, and only publicise public aspects of their lives.

Re:who cares

[hairyfeet]

Because unlike with other CxOs Steve Jobs has purposely built a cult of personality around him that will seriously affect the stock. A good example of the difference is MSFT, where if you ask the average Joe they still think Gates runs the thing. If Ballmer was hit by a car tomorrow nobody outside the tech world would take much notice and it is doubtful that the stock would take a nosedive.

Now compare that to Jobs where we HAVE seen the stock take a serious hit just from a phony death rumor. IMHO Steve Jobs has failed Apple by not pushing a successor the second he came back from the transplant. he should have been grooming his successor from day one and pushing them beside him in the spotlight wherever possible. instead you have had Steve take front and center (typical narcissist behavior) the SECOND he was able to get back to work and all talks about successors went the way of the Newton.

So honestly Steve deserves no privacy because he brought it upon himself by making himself the center of the Apple universe and not doing anything to stop the "cult of Steve" hell if anything he pumped it up. So just like any other business where rightly or wrongly success if believed to hinge on a key component or player, so too does Steve's health affect the bottom line and the shareholders have a right to know. If Steve didn't want it to be this way he could have been sharing the spotlight and grooming his replacement, but I guess Steve doesn't do well with sharing.

He's probably dying

[Anonymous Coward]

Abdominal cancers are not fun. Pancreatic cancers are almost always fatal. I'm sure his wealth has probably bought him time... but you can't cheat death.

Re:He's probably dying

[Pieroxy]

Can't we just leave him alone? I mean, when he bashes on Google openly, let the press and everyone else fire full power. It's fair game.

But now? Doesn't he deserve some privacy or even just some respect? Not because of what he's done, be because of what he is living right now.

A pic here

[A Friendly Troll]

http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4d5c75d8cadcbbc41b160000/steve-jobs-sick.jpg

There's also a sensationalist headline over here:

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/02/17/steve-jobs-may-have-just-six-weeks-to-live-receiving-treatment/

The Daily Mail spoke to Dr Jerome Spunberg, a certified Oncologist, who said: âoeMr Jobs is most likely getting outpatient chemotherapy at Stanford because the cancer has recurred.â

Another consultant, Dr. Gabe Mirkin, a physician with over fourty years experience, said: âoeHe is terminal. What you are seeing is extreme muscle wasting from calorie depravation, most likely caused by cancer. He has no muscle left in his buttocks, which is the last place to go. He definitely appears to be in the terminal stages of his life from these photos. I would be surprised if he weighed more than 130lb.â

The National Enquirer, who initially reported the news today (to be published tomorrow), talked to critical-care physician Dr. Samuel Jacobson, who said, âoeJudging from the photos, he is close to terminal. I would say he has six weeks.â That said, given the reliability of The National Enquirer, waiting for further news before jumping to conclusions is advised.

Weâ(TM)ve done a little digging into Dr. Samuel Jacobson. Jacobson appears to be a Florida based pulmonologist (breathing doctor) â" not Oncologist. Which would naturally make you wonder just how qualified he is to diagnose someone via a photo, especially outside of his speciality.

Why this matters

[Jim Hall]

This item has only been up a few minutes, and already a lot of people are asking why this matters, why they should care. Here's why:

If you use a Mac, you should care about this.

Steve Jobs is unquestionably the driving force behind Apple. His return to Apple as the iCEO, followed by the introduction of new streamlined iMacs, the iPod, ... all demonstrated that Steve had returned to make Apple's mark on the industry. How many of the general population - not to mention us IT geeks - have an iPod? I look around my office and see high level executives using iPads. Steve made these a success. The same technology in a different package - maybe even the same package but a different salesman - wouldn't be as popular.

Pundits, fans, and teh haters all pay attention when Steve makes a new announcement of any new Apple product. That's the presence Steve brings to the game. He's like a tiny god. Love him or hate him, you can't deny he understands the market, and how to drive new products to get at that "I want it" mentality.

But unfortunately, Steve's success is a double-edged sword. He's the driving force behind Apple. He's also the driving force behind Apple. There was no succession planning here. His second in command isn't well known. He's not the face of Apple. I wonder who will follow him.

I wish Steve the best, and if he's able to return as CEO, I think that would be great. But if he doesn't ... look for Apple's stock to plummet. Even if the new guy has all kinds of bright ideas, I don't think he'll have the same presence as Steve, and won't be able to garner the same attention for the company. Apple has lots of new items in the pipeline, I'm sure, so the new guy's leadership won't truly be tested/visible for another 12 to 18 months. In that time, he needs to make his own mark, or Apple will quickly find itself on the sidelines trying to catch up to the rest of the market - rather than leading the market.

That's what has investors worried. And that is why you should care about this item.

Disclaimer: I am not an Apple fan, but I work in IT.

Netcraft confirms it: Steve Jobs is dying.

[Anonymous Coward]

Doctors of Medicinal Wizardry at Netcraft Sanitoriums have determined that Steve Jobs is dying. His slow lapse into death is due to a lack of Ego, which he has depleted to run Apple Enterprises. It was considered giving him a shot of Humility (which has has no natural reserve of) as an experimental treatment, but past review of his life has determined that this would be of no effect. Apple fanbois are quietly assembling at Cupertino to prepare for the inevitable deathwatch.

Are we sure it is Steve Jobs in the photos?

[The Optimizer]

The guys over at jalopnik aren't so sure, unless he's traded in his Mercedes SL55 AMG for a 10+ year old Honda Civic...

http://jalopnik.com/#!5763321/cmon-does-the-national-enquirer-really-think-steve-jobs-owns-a-honda

Re:Private Lives

[TaoPhoenix]

Except Mark Zuckerberg

He deserves to have every facet of his life known and subjected to Liking or DisLiking.