Above is the 8:08 p.m. headline on the breaking story, from the online Wall Street Journal.
Successful surgery?
Perhaps. No one in the world knows at this moment.
Every time a famous person undergoes surgery, the story says it was successful.
What does that mean?
How can anyone know whether or not Steve Jobs' cancer has already silently metastasized and seeded his brain, spinal cord, liver, lungs, or other organs?
Answer: no one can or does know.
The surgery is always said to be successful if the patient survives it.
Whether or not the long-term outcome is good can only be determined over the long term.
Pancreatic cancer is perhaps the most feared of all cancers, because it remains silent for so long.
By the time symptoms occur, it is often too late for a curative operation.
Having said that, if indeed Jobs had an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, as the article stated, then his prognosis is much better than with other types of pancreatic tumors.
But once again, no one really knows, no matter how much the learned medical authorities in days to come may opine.
It's all a "best guess," like most things in medicine.
Don't be pessimistic, but on the other hand, don't be fooled.
Here's what the National Cancer Institute website has to say about islet cell carcinoma, the type of pancreatic cancer removed from Jobs.
The American Cancer Society website is also informative.
Here's the Wall Street Journal story, by Pui-Wing Tam, in its entirety:
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Apple Computer CEO Jobs Undergoes Successful Surgery
Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple Computer Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios, underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his pancreas over the weekend.
The surgery was successful and Mr. Jobs will return to work in September, an Apple spokeswoman said.
Mr. Jobs, 49 years old, disclosed the news about his surgery in a memo he sent to Apple staffers yesterday.
Article comments
1 - Andrew Ian Dodge
Ouch, let's hope he gets well soon.