Trying to find any reliable information on Steve Jobs to write about seems almost impossible. He is an enigma wrapped 
in a puzzle and smothered in secret sauce. He even keeps his license plate to himself, opting for no plate at all and paying any fines that come his way.
Even the origin of the name “Apple” seems under dispute, one of them stating that Steve was a Fruitarian at the time and threatened to name the company Apple if no one came up with a better name by 5:00pm, while another tells of him visiting an apple orchid frequently.
I have heard of him spending some time as a fruitarian in the 70′s before. I have also heard that he is a vegan, a vegetarian, or a pescatarian (the later more often considered true). But as many have experienced with diet and nutrition, it is a common trend to change one’s ways and try new things to find what works well for you. Especially when dealing with health issues, such as pancreatic cancer and what came after.
According to the official release from Apple in regards to Steve’s health:
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
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.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.
Some thought this issue with his protein was somehow related to his vegan/vegetarian/pescatarian ways (whichever one he really is). However, doing a bit of digging to find out more about his condition in regards to his previous health issues, I came across a Wall Street Journal article in which Jacob Goldstein, Endocrinologist for The Mayo Clinic, puts most of the blame on residual effects of the pancreatic cancer or possibly a return of that cancer, either in the pancreas again or perhaps the liver.
In 2004, surgeons removed something called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor — a rare form of cancer that’s not deadly if caught early — from Jobs’s pancreas. It’s possible that the tumor has recurred, perhaps on the pancreas or the liver, and is upsetting hormonal signals involved in digestion. This might be treated by surgically removing the tumor, or by taking pills that restore the hormonal balance.
That scenario would explain the “hormonal imbalance” Jobs mentioned in his statement, as well as his description of the problem as a “nutritional problem.”
A simpler possibility would be that the tumor removal left Jobs with a pancreas that’s just not big enough to produce enough pancreatic enzymes. In that case, taking the enzymes in pills would be an effective treatment. But if Jobs’s problem were simply that he’s not getting enough enzymes because his pancreas is too small, it wouldn’t typically be referred to as a “hormone imbalance.”
Wow, I had wondered if something about his past cancer issues had returned. Knowing someone who has survived cervical cancer, I have come to understand that the term “survived” is really just in regards to the cancer itself. Because sometimes the journey they go on and the treatments they take to destroy the cancer cause quite a bit of damage in itself, leaving them seemingly forever dealing with the aftermath of that battle.
Rumors floated around this most recent WWDC that perhaps Steve would return to Apple full time. I didn’t expect it myself, just expected some of the tech rumors to come to fruition instead. However there is still word here and there that any day now there will be an announcement.
Personally I just want the man to get better, even if he never returns. The company is bigger than one man after all.
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