Steve jobs cancer

littlemount

Hearing the news yesterday got me thinking he was a vegetarian/vegan and developed pancreatic cancer. I have lived in India with a largely vegetarian population had have not seen many pancreatic cancers. Maybe it is the spices which are used turmeric /Curcumin is so widely used among all people on a daily basis. Could that be a protective factor? There are many trials underway it does have some protective element before one uses it they have to read up on it as a supplement. In India most people buy it as a powder and use 1 -2 teaspoons in curry daily.Basically the powdered form which has been used for many years looks like the safest.

Of course one cannot discount the fact that he was around electronics a lot did that contribute to his cancer?

chemimangia

There are more differences in the U.S. diet and an Indian diet - beyond tumeric.
We have a lot of chemicals and processed substances in our diet.
- High fructose corn syrup for example.

The tumeric is something that can be seen as a correlation, but there is no evidence that it is the only factor.

In fact, his pancreatic cancer could be caused by the types of sugars that he was eating. I can't help but think of the relationship between the pancreas and insulin. Too much simple sugars - pancreas is working overtime. Many things can go wrong. All on a vegetarian diet.

Much of the U.S. diet is made up of processed vegetables which are considered OK to eat on a vegetarian diet, but are really something that was made in a factory.

sguggenmos

Right now pancreatic cancer is the 4th deadliest cancer and unfortunately one of the least funded, so we don't have a lot of answers as to why people get it other than genetics and the basic smoking/drinking/obesity factors. My mom passed away almost 5 years ago from the disease and we have 0 understanding as to how she got it. If you want know more about pancreatic cancer and signs/symptoms and research I suggest the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at http://www.pancan.org They have been a great resource for me since the 1st day of diagnosis.

upsidedownpear

Steve Jobs had a neuroendocrine tumor (NET) of pancreas and are quite distinct from pancreatic tumors. Diet full of synthetic chemicals can lead to a number of cancers in addition to the genetic predisposition by birth.

Curcumin is thought to have a chemopreventative role but its not established clinically as yet. Its hard to tell that Steve Jobs got cancer because of his diet. Cancers like colorectal cancer and prostate cancer are almost certainly from diets rich with red meat.

Also, there is no link between pancreatic cancer and diabetes. For example, someone with diabetes is NOT at a high risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

And yes, its a silent killer. It goes undetected until its progressed. One of the theories is our bodies endogenous pain killers mask the pain from pancreatic cancer. NET that Steve Jobs had in fact rarely turns metastatic but he was among the very few unfortunate people.

PBJunkie

Hearing the news yesterday got me thinking he was a vegetarian/vegan and developed pancreatic cancer. I have lived in India with a largely vegetarian population had have not seen many pancreatic cancers. Maybe it is the spices which are used turmeric /Curcumin is so widely used among all people on a daily basis. Could that be a protective factor? There are many trials underway it does have some protective element before one uses it they have to read up on it as a supplement. In India most people buy it as a powder and use 1 -2 teaspoons in curry daily.Basically the powdered form which has been used for many years looks like the safest.

Of course one cannot discount the fact that he was around electronics a lot did that contribute to his cancer?

Cancer is a mutation of cells spreading through the body that can cause organ failure, add pressure on the CNS etc. The only thing curry will do is burn out your exhaust pipe.

The only treatments is chemotherapy which kills the cells and by removing the growth hormone within the cell that will stop it from spreading through the body and eventually die.

Anything can cause cancer, from inhalation of asbestos to bumping your knee against the coffee table.

megmariew1

It could have been all the LSD he did back in the day too. Who knows really? Cancer happens to people that do everything right too. It pretty much just sucks.

RobynC79

I have lived in India with a largely vegetarian population had have not seen many pancreatic cancers.

Pancreatic cancer is uncommon everywhere, but is suddenly at the forefront of awareness here in the US because of a high-profile victim. This is potentially a great thing for a poorly-understood disease with generally poor outcomes that could benefit from more research dollars (although the cancer Jobs had was among the less common and better-outcome types).

Lower rates of diagnoses or lower public awareness does not mean lower incidence. Detection rate is not the same as frequency. It is tempting to ascribe some detail of one diet as a panacea because it is human nature to do so in the face of a mysterious disease, but 99% of the time these supposed associations turn out to be specious. It is extremely improbably that a single aspect of a diet (such as the inclusion of turmeric) is protective against disease. If it were so simple, there would more than likely already be studies trumpeting this outcome, and there are not.

Cancers like colorectal cancer and prostate cancer are almost certainly from diets rich with red meat.

This is far from certain. Large epidemiological studies show there may be an association between high consumption of red meat and increased incidence of these cancers. 'Almost certainly' is really pushing it.

Who knows really? Cancer happens to people that do everything right too. It pretty much just sucks.

And that about sums up the current state of awareness of what may or may not cause cancer. Sad, but unfortunately true.

littlemount

Thanks for all the input on this subject but as far as I know colon cancer is due to less fiber intake my grandfather a doctor from 1920 had it, it was believed in his era that low fiber food was good for the intestines/colon and always had soft food, he never ate redmeat.
As for prostate cancer it is sunlight vitamin D areas have less of this cancer. Still pending my research no time to correlate incidence rates/death rates from florida vs northeast.

Atleast through myfitnesspal let us get rid one big contributing factor OBESITY.

lynn1982

Hearing the news yesterday got me thinking he was a vegetarian/vegan and developed pancreatic cancer. I have lived in India with a largely vegetarian population had have not seen many pancreatic cancers. Maybe it is the spices which are used turmeric /Curcumin is so widely used among all people on a daily basis. Could that be a protective factor? There are many trials underway it does have some protective element before one uses it they have to read up on it as a supplement. In India most people buy it as a powder and use 1 -2 teaspoons in curry daily.Basically the powdered form which has been used for many years looks like the safest.

Of course one cannot discount the fact that he was around electronics a lot did that contribute to his cancer?

This is a rather ignorant post. Pancreatic cancer is a rare but also deadly cancer (because there are usually no symptoms until it has progressed). There are so many contributing factors to cancer in general that one cannot pin point an exact cause. My mother died very quickly after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She worked out regularly 5 times a week, was a vegetarian for half of her life, never smoked, didn't drink, (and was not around electronics - to answer that question). To try to pin point one exact cause (and to put the blame the deceased in general) is absurd. Have some respect.

shakybabe

I hope electronics doesn't contribute to cancer otherwise I've got no chance been in an powered wheelchair all day and use a communication aid (with strangers - my speech isnt very clear).

I also love my Mac's and if I'm not on computer I'm on my iPad!

Best get cooking some curries as won't be giving up my Assistive Tech!

Momma24

Hearing the news yesterday got me thinking he was a vegetarian/vegan and developed pancreatic cancer. I have lived in India with a largely vegetarian population had have not seen many pancreatic cancers. Maybe it is the spices which are used turmeric /Curcumin is so widely used among all people on a daily basis. Could that be a protective factor? There are many trials underway it does have some protective element before one uses it they have to read up on it as a supplement. In India most people buy it as a powder and use 1 -2 teaspoons in curry daily.Basically the powdered form which has been used for many years looks like the safest.

Of course one cannot discount the fact that he was around electronics a lot did that contribute to his cancer?

This is a rather ignorant post. Pancreatic cancer is a rare but also deadly cancer (because there are usually no symptoms until it has progressed). There are so many contributing factors to cancer in general that one cannot pin point an exact cause. My mother died very quickly after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She worked out regularly 5 times a week, was a vegetarian for half of her life, never smoked, didn't drink, (and was not around electronics - to answer that question). To try to pin point one exact cause (and to put the blame the deceased in general) is absurd. Have some respect.

I did not take disrespect from the op. I took it as an observation and even questioning so as to start a conversation on the subject.

littlemount

Well when the cause is unknown one has to look hard. In beginning of 1900 tuberculosis was rampant today it is treated well cause is off course known . Lets say mid 1980's HIV was so big disease now many many treatments.Yes partly genetic, partly environmental like obesity, smoking we put ourselves at risk, so i do not think it is irresponsible,
I think we should never seize to look for the cause or a cure.

I truly did not mean any disrespect for the patient .