Dear Apple Community,
For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.
I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause — a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.
I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.
So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.
Steve

Gizmodo did a bit of quick backtracking on their report and changed the wording by adding an “allegedly” and replaced “solid source” with “previously reliable” … Despite this word-smithing, the Gizmodo report was/is blatantly false and damage was done to Apple (AAPL) shareholders today.

In 2003, Steve Jobs had an extremely rare yet treatable form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell neuroendocrine. Jobs was treated without radiation or chemotherapy. As part of his treatment, Steve Jobs also underwent a Whipple (intestinal restructuring) procedure. This procedure often causes enduring weight loss. Steve is lean due to the Whipple but he is otherwise healthy and fully capable of fulfilling his CEO duties. More > http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/06/13/steve-jobs-life-after-the-whipple/

From AppleInsider today – “Steve is Fine!!!
Listen I am just as concerned as everyone on this matter… but I have a friend that works at Apple Headquarters in UI design. Me and him have talked about this a couple of times now… he never tells me anything that he does for work, because he isn’t allowed to. But what he has told me is that on most days Steve eats lunch about the same time he does. Steve usually sits with Jonathan Ive and a handful of other Executives. He says that visually there is nothing wrong with him. He looks fine. I asked is he still really thin? His response was No, he definitely is not. but he isn’t pudgy in the waist any more, his opinion is that steve is aging. He is 53 about to be 54 years old, he just isn’t young looking anymore. He is just thinning out a little with age is all. He assures me based on what he has seen, that there is nothing wrong with Steve, and the media is blowing everything out of proportion.

As far as Macworld goes, I will definitely miss Macworld keynotes! But now we can all buy freely around Christmas time, and never have to worry about what Apple is coming out with in early January!”