Steve Jobs Medical Leave Pancreatic Cancer

Steve Jobs CEO of Apple has taken a medical leave of absence. He has pancreatic cancer but it is not listed as the reason for this medical leave. What is this type of cancer?

Diagnosed in 2003 with pancreatic cancer, Jobs had surgery and tried alternative medications. In 2008, it was noticed Jobs had lost a great deal of weight, and in January 2009 he said that weight loss was a hormone imbalance, He too six months off to recuperate at home while receiving medical care. He also had a liver transplant at that time, which was deemed successful. Jobs returned to work full time as the CEO of Apple in June 2009 in good health.

Each time after taking a few months off Jobs, the CEO of Apple returned to work. The two previous medical leaves by Jobs have always had a return date on them.

However, this latest one, which was announced on Jan. 17, does not have a return date. This has many people guessing about the ramifications of such a move. Will Apple's stock drop? What does the future hold for Jobs himself, aside from the company?

Pancreatic cancer gets its start in the pancreatic tissues, and spreads very quickly within a body. Most of the time this cancer shows no symptoms until the whole pancreas is involved. This makes the prognosis very poor for the patients.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, symptoms of pancreatic cancer include pain in the upper abdominal area that branches out to the patient's back, yellowish skin color, weight loss, blood clots and of course depression.

There are two types of pancreatic cancer. The most common type is the one that forms in the ducts of the pancreas and the rarer one begins in the cells, which produce hormones. Both are fast acting cancers which wreak havoc on the body.

Other famous people with pancreatic cancer were Patrick Swayze, Fred Gwynne, Joan Crawford, Count Basie, Jack Benny, Billy Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Michael Landon, Vince McMahon Sr., and Henry Mancini.

Resources:

http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/17/technology/tim_cook_apple/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110117/cm_atlantic/stevejobstakesmedicalleavewhatnowforapple6588_1

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pancreatic-cancer/DS00357

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/01/17/steve.jobs.leave/index.html?hpt=T2