Apple confirms Steve Jobs illness, now recovering

Apple has responded to widely-reported concerns at the health of CEO Steve Jobs, saying the company co-founder has been suffering from a "common bug" in recent weeks.

Concerns as to the health of Jobs, who suffered a rare form of pancreatic cancer four years ago, were raised following his appearance at WWDC this week, when the Mac web noted that he seemed to have suffered some weight loss.

Responding to these concerns, an Apple spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal Jobs was hit with a “common bug” in recent weeks but that he still felt it was important to participate in the Apple conference. Jobs is now recovering with help from a course of antibiotics.

Jobs is seen as nearly irreplaceable at Apple, where he has conducted the most dramatic turnaround of a company in corporate history.

Jobs had what is called the "Whipple Operation" to deal with his cancer…

In the Whipple operation the head of the pancreas, a portion of the bile duct, the gallbladder and the duodenum is removed. Occasionally a portion of the stomach may also be removed. After removal of these structures the remaining pancreas, bile duct and the intestine is sutured back into the intestine to direct the gastrointestinal secretions back into the gut….

…..What are the long-term complications of the Whipple operation?

Loss of weight: It is common for patients to lose up to 5 to 10% of their body weight compared to their weight prior to their illness. The weight loss usually stabilizes very rapidly and most patients after a small amount of initial weight loss are able to maintain their weight and do well.

So all par for the course…