Amidst ongoing speculation about his health, Apple Inc. co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs said Wednesday he is taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June. Job's announcement comes just a week after he assured investors and employees that his recent weight loss was caused by what he called a 'treatable hormone deficiency.'
In 2004 Jobs revealed that he had undergone successful surgery to
treat a very rare form of pancreatic cancer, but rumors persisted about
his health. Concerns about his condition intensified after Apple announced in December that Jobs would not make his annual keynote address at this year's Macworld conference in San Francisco.
Jobs, 53, said in a letter last week that he would remain as CEO despite his condition, and said he had already started the "relatively simple and straightforward" treatment for the problem.
But in an e-mail to employees Wednesday, Jobs appeared to back down from his previous statements. "During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought," he wrote.
"Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well...In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June."
The illness, not to mention the ongoing public and media speculation must be difficult for Jobs' wife and kids. Let's hope the next few months give him and his family the chance to deal with his illness and heal in private.
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