Is Steve Jobs Suffering from the Devastating Effects of Pancreatic Cancer Surgery?
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, January 5, 2009
Throughout 2008, the world of tech watched Steve Jobs wither away in a disturbing bout of alarming weight loss. After his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2004, many assumed his cancer had returned. A falsely-posted obituary on Steve Jobs even caused a stir a few months ago and briefly caused Apple's stock to plunge.
So what's really wrong with Steve Jobs' health? In an open letter just released, Jobs says he suffers from a "nutritional problem" that has been causing his body to be unable to absorb proteins correctly.
I challenge that explanation. The term, "nutritional problem" implies that the source of the problem is something he's eating or not eating. That explanation is entirely incorrect, in my estimation. And although I don't have access to Jobs' medical records, I do know he's working with conventional medical doctors who tend to blame problems on symptoms rather than addressing the root cause of the problem.
So they'll say, for example, that Jobs is suffering from a "hormone imbalance," and that's the problem. But they won't bother to look underneath it and ask WHY is he having a hormone imbalance?
The real reason, I fear, is much more dire, and I suspect Jobs is glazing over his health condition out of concern for Apple's share price, which is largely dependent on the perception that Steve Jobs can stay at the helm for at least a few more years.
What could the real reason be? In 2004, Steve Jobs underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. A typical procedure for such circumstances involves the rather barbaric removal of most of the pancreas, parts of the stomach, the bile duct and the small intestine. This procedure is called the Whipple procedure, and not surprisingly, it leaves people in a dire health state where they often have difficulty digesting food and assimilating nutrients.
I'm guessing (although I have no proof) that Steve Jobs underwent a Whipple procedure, and as a result of that, he now has difficulty assimilating food nutrients. This would, of course, contribute to the rapid weight loss we're seeing right now.
This is all conjecture, of course, so I'm not claiming to have secret documents that prove any of this. It's just an educated guess. So why did Jobs possibly have a Whipple procedure in the first place?
Remember: Jobs was a follower of alternative medicine. He reportedly delayed surgery in 2004 by nine months while working to treat his cancer with "alternative" modalities (I don't know which ones he used, however). I'm theorizing that he eventually gave in to the conventional docs and decided to have the surgery for whatever reason. While the surgery physically removed cancer tumors from the affected organs, it also would have left Jobs without a fully-functioning digestive system. And that could be the root cause behind what Jobs is experiencing today.
In my heart, I hope to see Steve Jobs recover from his ailment, but I suspect he actually did undergo the Whipple procedure, and now he's working with a compromised digestive system that will require extremely careful attention to overcome.
I can tell you one thing with a high degree of certainty: Steve Jobs isn't suffering merely from a "nutritional problem." There's something behind that nutritional problem, and it seems that he's going to keep those details to himself.
I respect that. Steve Jobs has a right to his own health privacy, just as we all do. And it must be annoying as heck to have everybody guessing at what's wrong with you. Let's hope that Jobs' health is restored so he can lead Apple in bringing us really cool looking but over-priced and DRM-protected products for years to come.
From Apple.com: Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.... more