At least he wasnt in the UK and so didnt have to put up with our lousy NHS (No Help Service) with thier arrogant rude and intimidating doctors, (just what you need whe youre ill & scared) dirty hospitals and second hand surgical instruments from cheap manufacturers in India with blood on them.
Yeah, good thing Prof. Stephen Hawkings wasn't British. The NHS would have killed him by now.
Regardless, he's no longer here so it is pointless to second guess. What is done is done.
But there are others out there that might find themselves in the same situation, either now or in the future, that could learn from what Steve Jobs did and how it turned out.
SJ was one of the greatest minds of his generation. But, like everyone else, he was prone to make poor choices on other aspects of life not centric to what made him great. Taking the best choices sometimes requires you to trust someone else. It is sad he was not able to trust the people around him. Getting past that must have been tough for him but it goes to show his strength of character.
He found peace long before death caught up with him.
I guess I'm not surprised. Steve always thought different, and not necessarily right when it came to his own health. According to one early biography of him released back in the 1980s, he once thought carrots were the perfect food, so he ate nothing but carrots for a while, enough to turn his skin orange from all the beta-carotene.
I'm not a fan of alternative medicines...they fall under irrational superstition to me. But being a rational adult Mr. Jobs had every right to whatever medicine he deemed necessary.
I wish he had heeded the warnings and went the surgical route but what's done is done.
The surgery may not have helped anyways as my grandfather died from the same affliction even after surgery.
This is a ridiculous statement. Cancer is no joke. Further, deciding on a care treatment plan is also no joke. You will get different opinions from different highly qualified experts. You also have to weigh the options in relation to the risk involved and quality of life after treatment. Generally the treatments will only add a couple of extra years of life. Is that worth it if the risk of death is high from the treatment and the quality of life afterwards low? Maybe not.
Moreover, Jobs was a very holistic person who embraced alternative forms of medicine that for something less serious may have been a plausible form of treatment. On top of all that you typically have to make decisions relatively quickly all while processing life shattering news.
It is quite easy to judge something from an outside perspective after the fact. Making these decisions, however, is an entirely different matter. From all I read Jobs was lucky to get the years he did, and even if he could have received more years, the odds of it being very many more was low.
I'm not judging, I'm talking from experience and I've been there. If you think my statement is ridiculous then you didn't read it correctly. My point is when one is diagnosed with a terminal disease, one should seek the BEST form of what is CURRENTLY ACCEPTED AS PROVEN treatment for the given disease as soon as possible. Even if it buys you an extra decade, year, month, day or hour of life, seeking help and proper treatment immediately gives one the best chance of being on this great Earth for precious moments longer.
But there are others out there that might find themselves in the same situation, either now or in the future, that could learn from what Steve Jobs did and how it turned out. ...
I hate how everyone is assuming here that because he didn't go for crippling chemotherapy and invasive surgery that he somehow made a "bad choice." He made a choice is all.
We all die, and every single person that has cancer is going to die no matter what therapies they choose. "Chemotherapy" is just a word for "We will fill your veins with anti-freeze and almost kill you." It's a crude, "guesswork" kind of therapy that rarely works for very long and sometimes kills you.
If I had a tumour I wouldn't go for chemo. I might go for surgery, but that would be my choice, just like it was Steve's. There are no "right" and "wrong" choices here. There's just what you think, and what the doctor suggests. Doctors are not gods (even though most act like they are), and not one of them understands enough about cancer to do anything but make general suggestions based on statistics.
I have done end of life care for over 30 years. After all I have seen, this is my conclusion:
If one learns one has a cancer tumor, get it cut out immediately, plus surrounding tissue.
GET RID OF IT FAST.
Also pray, meditate, visualize, and use whatever 'alternative' methods you feel akin to.
Listen to Drs, get several opinions, do own research, pick the best treatments possible from both "traditional" and "alternative" medicine and be sure there are no contraindications between anything you do.
Not having surgery MAY have shorten his life here on earth ?
He didn't want it ? until he woke up? Thought of his life, wife and kids?
We can go on and on about this, but as we all know, it DOESN'T matter. All that matters is today and the decisions he made yesterday.
If he could be brought back to life and informed of his decisions and the outcome should he choose to not do what OTHERS felt was the best course of action for him, would he do it different ? you can bet the farm on it folks.
We all have beliefs, but those change when we are forced to see the out come from our decisions.
There is no doubt in MY mind, that given the change to do it all over again, and be around to see his kids grow up, his baby (Apple) become the BIGGEST company, with the most impact on the lives of everyone around him (Hell it's been doing this for awhile now).
PLEASE do not take this the wrong way, but to be Bigger then God himself, would he do it differently, I say he would, but he isn't coming back to get those changes, so he and the rest of us, have to live with the choices he and we all make.
He got us here, now it's up to us, to get us to the next level!
My life as an adult, is what it is solely because of Apple.
- My business
- My mind set
- Me, so thank you Mr. Jobs and all the folks at Apple.
The surgery for this cancer (Whipple Procedure) is EXTREMELY invasive. It removes the gallbladder, duodenum, head of the pancreas, reroutes the bile ducts and connects the stomach directly to the small intestines.
Recovery is horrid, your digestion is forever problematic, you'll have to take enzymes and hormones for the rest of your (likely short) life, your body is severely weakened and there is an enormous risk of infection due to what is actually cut up and rerouted (the most septic environment in your body - where food is being digested).
My dad was a candidate for this surgery and died a HORRIBLE death due to complications. If I get diagnosed with this cancer, I'll pass on this surgery too and give in to my fate.
Also, this surgery doesn't address the root cause for this cancer and recurrence is likely - so after being totally butchered up, chances are you'll die of multiple organ failure due to metastatic cancers everywhere.
I read after his death that his wife is the head of a "natural products" company and that he declined surgery in favor of a special diet. This sounds like naturopathy quackery to me
I read after his death that his wife is the head of a "natural products" company and that he declined surgery in favor of a special diet. This sounds like naturopathy quackery to me
it is...not as bad as parents refusing to allow their children treatment in favor of prayer, but close.
So far, no medical treatment has proven to cure Cancer.
WRONG WRONG WRONG yes shouting.
Many cancers are cureable with medical treatment. Metastatic testicular cancer has cure rates of over 80%, that's cancer in the lungs and all over the body.
If anyone is reading this don't believe the untruth. Hope your record for apple related posts have a tad more veracity.
Sorry about the caps a PSA (public service announcement was called for, not prostate specific antigen).
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal forms there is, with a five year survival rate of less than 10%. Its likely therefore that no matter what Jobs did he would not live for decades. Going seven years is pretty good going if you ask me - that's 2 years longer than 90% of people who suffer from Cancer of the Pancreas.
Of course he regretted not doing all he could as early as possible, but that's only natural and probably wouldn't have made much difference to the outcome.
As someone with OCD about contamination from other people and thus is repulsed by blood transfusions and organ transplants I totally sympathise with Jobs.
At least he wasnt in the UK and so didnt have to put up with our lousy NHS (No Help Service) with thier arrogant rude and intimidating doctors, (just what you need whe youre ill & scared) dirty hospitals and second hand surgical instruments from cheap manufacturers in India with blood on them.
What a bizarre and nonsensical post. The NHS isn't perfect, but it's far superior to the US model. Watch Michael Moore's Sicko for some pretty shocking stories of the fate of those who lack medical insurance in America.
Comments
At least he wasnt in the UK and so didnt have to put up with our lousy NHS (No Help Service) with thier arrogant rude and intimidating doctors, (just what you need whe youre ill & scared) dirty hospitals and second hand surgical instruments from cheap manufacturers in India with blood on them.
Yeah, good thing Prof. Stephen Hawkings wasn't British. The NHS would have killed him by now.
Regardless, he's no longer here so it is pointless to second guess. What is done is done.
But there are others out there that might find themselves in the same situation, either now or in the future, that could learn from what Steve Jobs did and how it turned out.
-kpluck
Unlike most americans, at least he had health insurance.
As of 2010, only about 16% of Americans lacked health insurance. You might want to try harder at not being misinformed.
-kpluck
He found peace long before death caught up with him.
I wish he had heeded the warnings and went the surgical route but what's done is done.
The surgery may not have helped anyways as my grandfather died from the same affliction even after surgery.
This is a ridiculous statement. Cancer is no joke. Further, deciding on a care treatment plan is also no joke. You will get different opinions from different highly qualified experts. You also have to weigh the options in relation to the risk involved and quality of life after treatment. Generally the treatments will only add a couple of extra years of life. Is that worth it if the risk of death is high from the treatment and the quality of life afterwards low? Maybe not.
Moreover, Jobs was a very holistic person who embraced alternative forms of medicine that for something less serious may have been a plausible form of treatment. On top of all that you typically have to make decisions relatively quickly all while processing life shattering news.
It is quite easy to judge something from an outside perspective after the fact. Making these decisions, however, is an entirely different matter. From all I read Jobs was lucky to get the years he did, and even if he could have received more years, the odds of it being very many more was low.
I'm not judging, I'm talking from experience and I've been there. If you think my statement is ridiculous then you didn't read it correctly. My point is when one is diagnosed with a terminal disease, one should seek the BEST form of what is CURRENTLY ACCEPTED AS PROVEN treatment for the given disease as soon as possible. Even if it buys you an extra decade, year, month, day or hour of life, seeking help and proper treatment immediately gives one the best chance of being on this great Earth for precious moments longer.
But there are others out there that might find themselves in the same situation, either now or in the future, that could learn from what Steve Jobs did and how it turned out. ...
I hate how everyone is assuming here that because he didn't go for crippling chemotherapy and invasive surgery that he somehow made a "bad choice." He made a choice is all.
We all die, and every single person that has cancer is going to die no matter what therapies they choose. "Chemotherapy" is just a word for "We will fill your veins with anti-freeze and almost kill you." It's a crude, "guesswork" kind of therapy that rarely works for very long and sometimes kills you.
If I had a tumour I wouldn't go for chemo. I might go for surgery, but that would be my choice, just like it was Steve's. There are no "right" and "wrong" choices here. There's just what you think, and what the doctor suggests. Doctors are not gods (even though most act like they are), and not one of them understands enough about cancer to do anything but make general suggestions based on statistics.
If one learns one has a cancer tumor, get it cut out immediately, plus surrounding tissue.
GET RID OF IT FAST.
Also pray, meditate, visualize, and use whatever 'alternative' methods you feel akin to.
Listen to Drs, get several opinions, do own research, pick the best treatments possible from both "traditional" and "alternative" medicine and be sure there are no contraindications between anything you do.
By the way, for those of you who were bitching/whining about the www.apple.com SJ memorial- you can relax, it's now gone. Happy?
http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/
He didn't want it ? until he woke up? Thought of his life, wife and kids?
We can go on and on about this, but as we all know, it DOESN'T matter. All that matters is today and the decisions he made yesterday.
If he could be brought back to life and informed of his decisions and the outcome should he choose to not do what OTHERS felt was the best course of action for him, would he do it different ? you can bet the farm on it folks.
We all have beliefs, but those change when we are forced to see the out come from our decisions.
There is no doubt in MY mind, that given the change to do it all over again, and be around to see his kids grow up, his baby (Apple) become the BIGGEST company, with the most impact on the lives of everyone around him (Hell it's been doing this for awhile now).
PLEASE do not take this the wrong way, but to be Bigger then God himself, would he do it differently, I say he would, but he isn't coming back to get those changes, so he and the rest of us, have to live with the choices he and we all make.
He got us here, now it's up to us, to get us to the next level!
My life as an adult, is what it is solely because of Apple.
- My business
- My mind set
- Me, so thank you Mr. Jobs and all the folks at Apple.
Skip
Recovery is horrid, your digestion is forever problematic, you'll have to take enzymes and hormones for the rest of your (likely short) life, your body is severely weakened and there is an enormous risk of infection due to what is actually cut up and rerouted (the most septic environment in your body - where food is being digested).
My dad was a candidate for this surgery and died a HORRIBLE death due to complications. If I get diagnosed with this cancer, I'll pass on this surgery too and give in to my fate.
Also, this surgery doesn't address the root cause for this cancer and recurrence is likely - so after being totally butchered up, chances are you'll die of multiple organ failure due to metastatic cancers everywhere.
I read after his death that his wife is the head of a "natural products" company and that he declined surgery in favor of a special diet. This sounds like naturopathy quackery to me
it is...not as bad as parents refusing to allow their children treatment in favor of prayer, but close.
So far, no medical treatment has proven to cure Cancer.
WRONG WRONG WRONG yes shouting.
Many cancers are cureable with medical treatment. Metastatic testicular cancer has cure rates of over 80%, that's cancer in the lungs and all over the body.
If anyone is reading this don't believe the untruth. Hope your record for apple related posts have a tad more veracity.
Sorry about the caps a PSA (public service announcement was called for, not prostate specific antigen).
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal forms there is, with a five year survival rate of less than 10%. Its likely therefore that no matter what Jobs did he would not live for decades. Going seven years is pretty good going if you ask me - that's 2 years longer than 90% of people who suffer from Cancer of the Pancreas.
Of course he regretted not doing all he could as early as possible, but that's only natural and probably wouldn't have made much difference to the outcome.
5 year survival, exocrine = 0%
5 year survival, endocrine = 30%
It's not about second guessing by other people. The article states that Jobs himself regretted putting off the surgery.
The Tribute page should be there for a year. This isn't, oh never mind. You know what I mean.
He changed the world. Apple, the Beatles and Apple. Changing the world more than ever.
As someone with OCD about contamination from other people and thus is repulsed by blood transfusions and organ transplants I totally sympathise with Jobs.
At least he wasnt in the UK and so didnt have to put up with our lousy NHS (No Help Service) with thier arrogant rude and intimidating doctors, (just what you need whe youre ill & scared) dirty hospitals and second hand surgical instruments from cheap manufacturers in India with blood on them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13894880
What a bizarre and nonsensical post. The NHS isn't perfect, but it's far superior to the US model. Watch Michael Moore's Sicko for some pretty shocking stories of the fate of those who lack medical insurance in America.