Presswatch: Bloomberg way off the mark...
In all of the coverage on Steve Jobs’ leave of absence, I found one article particularly distasteful. This is a report from Bloomberg, entitled, “Steve Jobs May Have Pancreas Removed After Cancer”. The article is based on the premise that Jobs may have his pancreas removed after a return of the cancer he suffered from in 2004.
I found the article distasteful on a number of levels. Firstly it is based on pure speculation; there is currently no evidence to suggest a return of Jobs’ pancreatic cancer, and reporting this is pure guesswork.
Secondly, the article quotes a doctor who ponders on the type of procedure Jobs went through in 2004, and then states that:
“A potential side effect of this procedure is that the organ has to be removed to prevent pancreatic leak, and the patient has to be kept alive with insulin to regulate blood sugar”. Robert Thomas, head of surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, makes suggestions to Bloomberg, but the article later states, “Thomas hasn’t treated Jobs and doesn’t know details of his condition.” This is probably the most telling part of the piece. The article is based on idle speculation, contains no medical certainties, and involves asking a cancer expert to work with no facts relating to Jobs’ real state of health.
Lastly, Bloomberg quotes Thomas as saying that one of the major side effects of this procedure is that the patient is “...on significant doses of insulin, and it’s not easy to manage...the person has the risk of severe diabetes.”
Let’s get a few things clear here. As a Type 1 diabetic for the last 28 years, I know a few things about this topic. If Steve Jobs is suffering from diabetes as a result of medical treatment, this can be treated. It can be managed and it is managed every day by millions of diabetics. The phrase “severe diabetes” does not help. Type 1 diabetes is where the body does not produce any insulin, and it is controlled by regular insulin injections. This differs from Type 2 diabetes which is more common in older patients as is normally treated by a strict diet and tablets.
Therefore Bloomberg’s idle speculation on the state of health of the Apple CEO serves little purpose. It seeks expert opinion for an unconfirmed rumour, and in doing so, exaggerates what is a difficult but mostly controllable medical condition.
Note: Unfortunately the Irish Independent published the Bloomberg story.
Dr. Simon Spence/2009
I found the article distasteful on a number of levels. Firstly it is based on pure speculation; there is currently no evidence to suggest a return of Jobs’ pancreatic cancer, and reporting this is pure guesswork.
Secondly, the article quotes a doctor who ponders on the type of procedure Jobs went through in 2004, and then states that:
“A potential side effect of this procedure is that the organ has to be removed to prevent pancreatic leak, and the patient has to be kept alive with insulin to regulate blood sugar”. Robert Thomas, head of surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, makes suggestions to Bloomberg, but the article later states, “Thomas hasn’t treated Jobs and doesn’t know details of his condition.” This is probably the most telling part of the piece. The article is based on idle speculation, contains no medical certainties, and involves asking a cancer expert to work with no facts relating to Jobs’ real state of health.
Lastly, Bloomberg quotes Thomas as saying that one of the major side effects of this procedure is that the patient is “...on significant doses of insulin, and it’s not easy to manage...the person has the risk of severe diabetes.”
Let’s get a few things clear here. As a Type 1 diabetic for the last 28 years, I know a few things about this topic. If Steve Jobs is suffering from diabetes as a result of medical treatment, this can be treated. It can be managed and it is managed every day by millions of diabetics. The phrase “severe diabetes” does not help. Type 1 diabetes is where the body does not produce any insulin, and it is controlled by regular insulin injections. This differs from Type 2 diabetes which is more common in older patients as is normally treated by a strict diet and tablets.
Therefore Bloomberg’s idle speculation on the state of health of the Apple CEO serves little purpose. It seeks expert opinion for an unconfirmed rumour, and in doing so, exaggerates what is a difficult but mostly controllable medical condition.
Note: Unfortunately the Irish Independent published the Bloomberg story.
Dr. Simon Spence/2009
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