Pancreatic Cancer: A Look At The Possible Cause Of Steve Jobs' Death

Steve Jobs, the inventor and co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc., died Wednesday at the age of 56 after a fight with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Even though Jobs underwent a liver transplant in 2009, medical experts speculate that his cancer probably came back or spread, thereby causing his death, the Associated Press reported.

Pancreatic cancer expert Dr. Steven Libutti, director of the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Cancer Care, told Fox News:

"The liver transplant could have been for a metastatic tumor, and the most common place for a neuroendrocrine tumor of the pancreas to spread is the liver. What (could've ultimately happened), patients with metastatic neuroendrocrine tumors to the liver generally on average, can live seven, 10, 15 years after diagnosis. So, it fits the timeline."

Jobs was private about his health problems, and never disclosed whether, after the 2009 liver transplant, his cancer had spread further to his lymph nodes or liver, the Associated Press reported.

According to news reports, back in 2004 Jobs underwent successful surgery for a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. The tumor is a rare type that comprises just 5 percent of pancreatic tumors, according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The tumor type is more slow-growing than other types.

The type of pancreatic cancer is usually only found when imaging procedures are done for other health issues. Treatments include surgery, hormone therapy, radiation or chemotherapy, MIBG radiolabeled therapy (a nuclear medicine technique) or other more early-stage approaches, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

MyHealthNewsDaily reported that it's difficult to detect pancreatic cancer until it has already entered its late stages and spread, and that symptoms can be hard to pinpoint to the cancer.

"The early symptoms are very non-specific," Julie Fleshman, president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, told MyHealthNewsDaily. "It's often not until a patient has become jaundiced that most physicians look deeper."

Not many people -- just 4.4 percent -- of people with pancreatic cancer survive longer than five years, USA Today reported. Jobs lived for seven years after it first became known that he was diagnosed with the cancer.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the number of new cases of pancreatic cancer is actually declining, likely because of decreasing rates of smoking. However, the cancer is still very deadly -- the fourth deadliest cancer for men, and the third deadliest for women, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Patrick Swayze also reportedly battled pancreatic cancer; the actor died from the disease in 2009, though he had a different form of the disease from Jobs, WebMD reported.

For Steve Jobs' medical timeline, click here.

Comments

[Anthony Dodd]

05:28 PM on 10/17/2011

Hmm. A forced video sharing the perspective of FOX NEWS first, CNN second. If you asked most Huff readers who they wanted to hear from, it would probably be MSNBC first, CNN second.

This explains why the newsie video is forced.

[LloydBurrell]

02:25 PM on 10/10/2011

MarkJD
“My response of "nonsense" was specifical¬ly in reference to the claim that cumulative exposure to electromag¬netic waves causes cancer; neither Lloyd nor you, Sharon, could provide a plausible mechanism for this effect much less credible evidence to support this assertion.”
If you look at what independent scientists and researchers are saying about EMFs people like Magda Havas, Debra Davies, Martin Blank and Pr. Belpomme you will see that they are saying very clearly that EMFs cause cancer, see http://electricsense.com/1082/electromagnetic-fields-cancer-and-leukemia-a-cure/

[lklex]

09:23 PM on 10/08/2011

Tragically, Steve Jobs is yet another victim of a non-politically correct cancer. Breast cancer is neither the first nor second leading cancer killer in America, yet, incongruously, more monies are spent combating breast cancer than combating any other cancer. Although breast cancer claims less than 10 percent more lives than pancreatic cancer, funding for combating breast cancer is many times the funding for combating pancreatic cancer. Funding for combating breast cancer is also many times the funding for combating lung cancer, the leading cancer killer of both men and women. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. It's time to recognize that the grossly disproportionate allocation of funds, including taxpayer dollars, for combating breast cancer is costing all too many cancer victims their lives.

[syl1969]

11:06 AM on 10/09/2011

First, women took it into their own hands to raise money and awareness to fight breast cancer. However, when I was diagnosed a year ago, my treatment plan was EXACTLY what my friend had 11 years prior: surgery, followed by 6 weeks of radiation and 5 years of Arimidex. Hundreds of millions of dollars in breast cancer research, and the treatment is the SAME 11 years later? What is up with that? Where is all that money going?

[darker]

03:12 AM on 10/08/2011

It seems.....as long as CANCER is big business for
academic and other researchers,
it will NEVER be cured.

[syl1969]

11:02 AM on 10/09/2011

My grandmother said this very thing 40 years ago.

[WESTFIELD]

12:00 AM on 10/08/2011

This is such a scary and frightening cancer. I wish we focus our energies in this country and realize that curing cancer should be our number one priority. We lost one huge genius this week and I'd hate future generations to lose their genuises to this disease as well. It's time we cure this once and for all.

[granamica]

09:51 PM on 10/08/2011

Prevention: by having a clean food source, clean environment and less stress.

That is increasingly difficult to maintain in our country.

[LB Zhang]

01:53 PM on 10/10/2011

Actually there are a few promising studies which are on the right track of curing caner. My research is one of them. Just several months before Jobs death, I made an important finding on the real cause of death of cancer patients and submitted the results to a top journal but rejected with unscientific reasons. So the most challenge is not the disease, it is medical field which was controlled by main stream big shots.

[LloydBurrell]

02:16 AM on 10/07/2011

I don't disagree with anything you say in this article, but for me the question that begs to be asked is: what caused Steve Jobs' cancer? This is far more important isn't it?

It might seem difficult to believe but could it be that the very technology that he so passionately developed, the iPhones, the iPads etc that lead to his demise? Or was it the Apple Lisa?

The story goes that Steve Jobs developed his first computer in his bedroom, that he was renowned for the grueling work ethic he endured. One thing is for sure is that he spent very long hours in a high EMF environment. Given the carcinogenic nature of EMFs this does raise some questions. Of course we will never know the truth, but when you see what 70 minutes on a computer can do to your blood, see http://electricsense.com/1464/what-about-steve-jobs-exposure-to-emfs/ , imagine what a lifetime in front of a computer does.

[FrenchKissed]

03:10 AM on 10/07/2011

If it was because of the work he did in his bedroom back in 1971, that's a very slow growing cancer. I think the number of people who spend their entire careers working on computers who *don't* get cancer would be pretty strong evidence against your theory. What caused Patrick Swayze to get cancer? Sometimes it's just in your genes.

[LloydBurrell]

04:51 AM on 10/07/2011

Research (George Carlo for instance) tells us that exposure to electromagnetic fields is very much a cumulative process. Its not particularly the work he did in his bedroom in the 1970s its more the cumulative exposure of a lifetime spent around initially computers and more recently wireless devices.

[daradar]

12:13 AM on 10/08/2011

Swayze was a very heavy smoker for a very long time. He even kept smoking while under going treatment, never a good idea. That fact alone may be why he developed cancer.

[granamica]

09:56 PM on 10/08/2011

Look to Bau Biology.

http://hbelc.org/about.html

In Seattle we have Sonia Hoglander of HomEvolution, who started out as an engineer and went further when she saw green doesn't necessarily mean healthy.

[labrown]

10:13 PM on 10/06/2011

Are you people kidding? He lived for damn near 8 years after his diagnosis which is practically unheard of. Pancreatic Cancer is a virtual death sentence and most patients with this diagnosis don't last even one year. There is a procedure known as "the Whipple procedure" that can extend life but it is a rarely performed, extensive and invasive surgery but in general when you have this you just die. How silly to split hairs as to whether he contracted pneumonia in the last 24 hours or look for some more specific cause. He died of the same thing my Father died of, Pancreatic Cancer.

[levarfan]

10:51 PM on 10/06/2011

He did get the "Whipple procedure", that was the surgery he had in 2004. His cancer was in the pancreas, but it isn't what most of us call "pancreatic cancer" -- it is correctly called islet cell neuroendocrine cancer, and has a very different course and set of options from the more common and always deadly pancreatic cancer.

[labrown]

10:31 AM on 10/07/2011

Thank you for that explanation. I did not know that and it's very interesting.

[daradar]

12:16 AM on 10/08/2011

It has also been reported that Jobs cancer was first diagnosed in Oct. of 2003 and he delayed surgery to remove the tumor until July 31st of 2004. This was against medical advice.

[Sharon Hanson]

09:05 PM on 10/06/2011

It's unfortunate that he went the allopathic route to treat his disease. It's my understanding that there is a treatment having excellent results but is being suppressed. Watch Cut, Poison, Burn and see if you are not moved by the stories....those that died from allopathic and those that lived from so called alternative. There is so much corruption in cancer treatment and research. A smart guy like Jobs would have been an excellent spokesperson and could have brought attention to the issue of corruption in medicine. Unfortunate indeed, he was a good man.

[levarfan]

10:49 PM on 10/06/2011

He tried naturopathic medicine when first diagnosed. He was receiving natural treatments and on a special diet. Unfortunately, that was not effective, so he decided to go the allopathic route.

[Sharon Hanson]

01:08 PM on 10/07/2011

Watch Cut Poison Burn. It's a documentary on cancer research and treatments. The allopathic methods kills people including children. There is an alternative but the FDA is suppressing the science. Do your research please.

[Sharon Hanson]

01:20 PM on 10/07/2011

The treatment I'm referring is allopathic but the FDA tried to brand the MD and biochemist a quack. It's backfired and families are marching in Washington to get the FDA out of our lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0ibsoqjPac&feature=related

[MarkJD]

01:04 AM on 10/07/2011

Yeah, that's right, there's a conspiracy to suppress the real cure. Researchers and physicians would rather send themselves and their family members to their deaths than reveal the real cure. Steve Jobs underwent some alternative treatment including an unspecified special diet for about nine months after the tumor was discovered, during which time the tumor continued to grow.Then he underwent surgery, presumably a Whipple procdure. His postponement of conventional, evidence-based medicine probably cost him his life.

[Sharon Hanson]

01:09 PM on 10/07/2011

Please watch the documentary Cut Poison Burn and let's talk after you have seen it. You are in the wrong here not me.

[LB Zhang]

07:22 PM on 10/06/2011

While the whole world is immersed in the great pain of losing this amazing person, most people believe he can not be saved due to the terrible reputation of pancreatic cancer. The cause of his death was attributed to pancreatic cancer. Actually for most cancer patients, the direct cause of death is not the cancer(tumor) itself, Steve Jobs should be one of this kind of cancer patients. People who have seen his in the past several months before his death should realized his extreme body weight loss which is the manifestation of cachexia, a systemic deterioration induced by the interaction of tumor and the body. Our research has clearly demonstrated we can significantly extend the survival of the host by treating the cachexia, not the tumor. At current stage of our research we definitely can help get much longer time for patients like Steve Jobs even though we cannot cure his disease. I believe ultimately we can find the way to prolong the survival of this kind cancer patients long enough before they die of other reasons.

[granamica]

10:04 PM on 10/08/2011

I read once many many years ago that a lot of cancer patients die from being under fed. That is because they don't eat enough due to many different factors. When my brother came down with
cancer, I begged him to take Essentials from Univera. They are a meal replacement made from organic greens with lots of vitamins and minerals. He survived his radiation and is doing great. He only lost 30 lbs, an amount that didn't cost his body a lot.

[LB Zhang]

01:07 PM on 10/10/2011

My research focused on the death cause of advanced cancer patients. I can say actually a lot of cancer patients die not because of under fed although they experience dramatic body weight loss and are usually very weak which seems to be under fed. But that is not induced by under fed because it can not be reversed by artificial feeding. It is a condition called cacheixa which is induced by the interaction of tumor and the body immune system Just months ago, I submitted a manuscript to Science which clearly explains the detail cause of death and provide a practical way to counter it to prolong survival of patients. unfortunately my manuscript was rejected by the old-fashioned editor. But I am sure only after my finding was accepted by the field of cancer, patients like Steve Jobs can saved. . If you are interested in this issue, please let me know and you can go to my facebook to see the amazing mice.

[ben roundy]

04:58 PM on 10/06/2011

rip steve , and thank you.

[usamade]

03:25 PM on 10/06/2011

Cancer is a sad, sad disease. I watched many loved ones die from it. My father for one was only 90 pounds when he died.

[WndrngHermit]

12:33 PM on 10/06/2011

Um... Cancer is curable already... without chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery

[Waterlooboy]

12:44 PM on 10/06/2011

If you're extremely lucky. Most people on vitamin D therapy etc. end up dying real ast.

[camanokat]

01:04 PM on 10/06/2011

What protocol are you talking about?

[WndrngHermit]

03:31 PM on 10/06/2011

I'm talking about the protocol of the human body. The human body tries to maintain an ideal internal environment (homeostasis if you will). In order to maintain this environment, it requires many substances, organisms, etc. The way most people live in the U.S and other western societies throws the body out of balance completely; the body is completely disrupted from normal functioning. This leads to the rise of most of the degenerative diseases we have afflicting people. Also poisons and radiation disrupt the body as well.

Its too much I could go into to go into any specifics but thats the gist of it.

[LovisMirac]

12:32 PM on 10/06/2011

Pancreatic cancer -- if that's what it originally was -- is one of the toughest. My partner knows it firsthand -- her mom died of it a few years ago.

And it's getting to be a matter of *TIMING* -- though it's too late for Steve, and too late for my ex-wife (who died from cancer a week ago) -- our recent advances are showing us the horizon of what's possible with cancer:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44090512/ns/health-cancer/t/new-leukemia-treatment-exceeds-wildest-expectations

http://www.burzynskimovie.com/

...if we can get past the profit considerations, and the competitiveness in the cancer industry. Profit is part of life... lets just put life FIRST.

((Aside: last year at a public science convention, the FDA *apologized* to Burzynski for the decades of grief they gave him.))

Wish you could have hung on a little longer, Steve and Carla.
God bless both your souls.
You both changed my world.

[LovisMirac]

12:34 PM on 10/06/2011

((sorry for the repost -- I saw zero "comments pending", and thought it did not go thru.))

[Kelly Jade]

12:50 PM on 10/06/2011

I'm sorry for your loss

[BillZBubb]

12:23 PM on 10/06/2011

Does anyone know if US pancreatic cancer rates are rising? It seems over the past decade it has become very prevalent in the news, but before that I don't remember it being as frequently covered. Perhaps it was just as common, but not reported, or maybe I wasn't paying attention back then.

[raker]

12:53 PM on 10/06/2011

I was thinking the same thing. Lately I hear of a lot of people dying from pancreatic cancer, and it wasn't always so. I wonder what's causing it.

[onionboy]

03:33 PM on 10/06/2011

It's actually dropping. We're hearing more about it.

[onionboy]

03:33 PM on 10/06/2011

Actually, pancreatic cancer rates in the US are dropping. The decline in smoking is thought to be a major factor. So, we're likely just hearing more about it. It's not so much a stigma anymore for people to be specific about their medical conditions, particularly with regard to cancer and mental illness. When I was a kid, you hardly ever heard about such things. Yul Brynner doing anti-smoking commercials was actually a bit of 'gasp' back then.

But even with declining rates, survival stats haven't changed at all. It's still one of the most deadly cancers. I could be off, but last I heard; it was the 10th most common cancer, but the 4th leading cause of cancer-related death.

[LovisMirac]

12:08 PM on 10/06/2011

We're getting so close to being done with cancer:
http://www.burzynskimovie.com/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44090512/ns/health-cancer/t/new-leukemia-treatment-exceeds-wildest-expectations

But too late for Steve... too late for my ex-wife who died a week ago...

Science and alternative medicine are both getting so much smarter, so quickly... it's almost down to a matter of timing.

God bless your souls, Steve and Carla. My world was changed by you both.

[Floretta]

12:33 PM on 10/06/2011

So sorry for your loss. You're right - medical treatments are being developed on practically a daily basis, it's becoming a question of catching and riding the wave of new therapies.