Steve Jobs Dead: Tech. Legend's Battle With Pancreatic Cancer
Steve Jobs died earlier this week at the age of 56 after a very long and public battle with pancreatic cancer, igniting worldwide mourning and tribute.
First diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his pancreas in 2004, Jobs resisted doctor’s recommendations for evidence-based medical intervention for nine months, and attempted a medicinal alternative: a special diet, to thwart the disease. He did not undergo chemotherapy or radiation, but did manage to rid of the tumor by removing part of his stomach, gallbladder, and pancreas.
In 2006 during Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Jobs appeared “thin, almost gaunt,” reported Wired News. For several years Jobs dodged media speculation of his health, but in January 2009, he announced a six-month leave in an internal Apple memo, writing that he had “learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.”
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During the leave, Tim Cook acted as Apple’s CEO, and he now serves the company in Jobs’ place permanently.
Jobs received a liver transplant in April 2009 at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in Memphis, Tennessee, and earned a positive prognosis.
A year and a half after the transplant, Tim Cook was again asked to fill in as CEO in order for Jobs to take a medical leave of absence. Despite his leave, Jobs appeared at the launch of the iPad 2 in March as well as the iCloud launch in June, but on August 24, 2011, he resigned as CEO of Apple altogether.
Jobs’ resignation letter included that he could “no longer meet [his] duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO.”
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the world, and is often a quick and aggressive killer.
His death on Wednesday has been met with reactions of notable people including President Barack Obama, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Walt Disney’s Bill Iger.
Thousands of Apple fans as well as celebrities have flooded social media outlets with tributes and grief.
“I would like to put a ding in the universe,” Jobs once said in a speech. Inventor of industry-changing devices such as the iPad, iPod, iPhone, and items that were at “the intersection of art and technology,” he contributed to Apple’s current reign as the richest company in the world.
A source of inspiration to many, Jobs gave entrepreneurs and start-up companies hope. He is survived by his wife, Laurene, and four children.
