Apple chief executive Steve Jobs may need to undergo surgery to remove his pancreas, reports Bloomberg. The enigmatic head of Apple first suffered from a bout of pancreatic cancer in 2004. A rare form, called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, the type of cancer Jobs was afflicted with only contributes to 1 percent of all pancreatic cancer diagnoses.
According to Bloomberg, Jobs’ initial operation was similar to the Whipple procedure and involved removing parts of the pancreas, bile duct, and small intestine.
Said Robert McCallum, head of surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, “A potential side effect of this procedure is that the organ has to be removed to prevent pancreatic leak, and the patient has to be kept alive with insulin to regulate blood sugar.”
Speculation regarding Jobs’ health has been constant over the past year. In July 2008, many were concerned about Jobs’ apparent weight loss when he introduced the 3G iPhone. Just last week at the Consumer Electronics Show, Jobs made a rare public statement in which he revealed his weight could be attributed to a “hormone imbalance” that was interfering with his body’s use of proteins. But yesterday, Jobs revealed he would be stepping down as chief executive for Apple until the end of June, stating that his health issues were “more complex” than initially thought.
This statement of course set the media on fire, fueling speculation that his cancer has returned, may never return to Apple, and that shareholders may sue the company for improper disclosure. In fact, the statement so disturbed investors that Apple’s share price plummeted, at one point, almost 10 percent in after hours trading.
If Jobs’ cancer has returned I think he has every right to treat it in privacy. With such a rare form of pancreatic cancer, I think it’s likely that doctors don’t have all the answers either. These ‘answers’ probably change on a day-to-day basis. I’m sure that Jobs disclosed the pertinent information when he had that information. Furthermore I don’t think that a lawsuit would hold up unless it could be proven that Jobs and his Board of Directors purposely misled investors, or that Apple employees began dumping company shares before yesterday’s memo was released publicly.
I also think that Apple is in good hands if he doesn’t return. For now he’ll still be involved in “major strategic decisions” and I’m sure if he doesn’t return to the position of chief executive he’ll play a decision-making role in the company. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer, has stepped in as the interim chief executive for now and he looks to be a perfectly capable leader. After all, he has completely revamped Apple’s production system since he came on more than a decade ago.
Here’s to wishing Steve Jobs good health. I think he and Apple will be just fine.