Think Different...

Gary had a wonderful idea of using Apple's slogan "Think Different" to promote NET cancer awareness and advocacy. The above picture is my first attempt at incorporating the two campaigns.

Additionally, some of my students are going to try to adapt the "Think Different" video below for NET Cancer Awareness Day (Nov. 10th).

While Steve Jobs decided to downplay his cancer diagnosis, the sad fact is that he had (and most likely died from) a pancreatic NET cancer... perhaps his determination to look at the world differently - as a world full of endless possibilities - will help encourage medical professionals to broaden their purview when faced with NET symptoms, especially since the average NET cancer patient waits 5-7 years before receiving the proper diagnosis.

The NET / Carcinoid community has been challenging the medical world to "think differently" about NET cancers for years. Below is an explanation from the Carcinoid Cancer Texas Survivors (CCTS) website about why zebra stripes are the chosen pin "color" for NET cancers.

Why the Zebra?

When medical students are going through their training they inevitably hear the phrase: "When you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras."Basically this helps to illustrate the strategy of initially diagnosing the more usual diseases or problems when a patient presents with symptoms.

An all-too-common scenario for many patients with Carcinoid, however, is one where a proper diagnoses is not made for a period of time . . . very often those with Carcinoid Syndrome are diagnosed with IBS or Crohn's Disease or perhaps even allergies or heart disease, before finally the correct diagnoses is made.

Some of our expert physicians have been heard to state therefore that in the case of Carcinoid, the patients ARE the Zebras . . . the more unusual . . . and NOT the horses! One of our more colorful Carcinoid Expert Physicians is well known for telling Carcinoid patients not only are we the Zebras, but we have pink stripes with purple spots!

And so we proudly embrace our ZEBRA STRIPES!!

Think Different * NET Cancers

What Really Killed Steve Jobs?

Yesterday, the iconic Apple founder Steve Jobs died.

He was 56 years old, worth billions of dollars, and liked black turtlenecks.

He transformed the world of technology, and ran a shrewd corporate empire that managed to make $1,300 computers and $200 phones an American household necessity - in a world where 1.4 billion people live on less than US$1.25 a day.

Despite the media reports, Steve Jobs did not die of pancreatic cancer.

He did not have pancreatic cancer - he had a neuroendocrine tumor (NET) in the islet cells of his pancreas. NETs are not a "rare form of pancreatic cancer" - they are a different disease all together... one that Jobs and I share.

NET cancers are rare, can occur in several organs in the body, and behave differently than any other type of cancer out there. They are so rare in fact that their "cancer ribbon" is zebra striped - to remind doctors that when they hear hoof beats don't just think horses, also consider zebras.

When Steve Jobs died, an unprecedented opportunity to raise awareness and support for the NET community died with him.

Last year was the first Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day (Nov. 10th), and I actually wrote to Steve Jobs, asking for his support... I didn't get a reply; I wasn't really expecting one. Still, that was one "launch" I wish he would have shown up for. I hope the financial stability of Apple stock was worth the price of his silence.

A Big THANK YOU To the News Guys Who Got it Right:

San Francisco Chronicle: Steve Jobs Waged Eight-Year Health Fight After Rare Cancer Diagnosis (October 6, 20011)

NPR: With A Spotlight on Jobs, Time To Talk About Cancer (August 25, 2011)

Steve Jobs: Silent Neuroendocrine Tumor Survivor

In 2010, Forbes Magazine estimated Apple's Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs's net worth at 5.5 billion dollars, and Fortune magazine named Jobs as the single most influential person in business. Despite his money and influence, however, Steve Jobs has failed miserably in one critical area: as a survivor advocate for neuroendocrine tumors.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NET) cause carcinoid cancer, and Jobs had one. Like most things Apple, news of Jobs's health has been kept tightly under wraps, despite swirling conjecture. The first confirmation of cancer came from Jobs himself in an August 2004 email to employees, which he wrote from his hospital bed after having an islet cell pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor removed. The email was upbeat and boldly claimed that the surgery had "cured" him of cancer. Then, he went silent.

Jobs's ongoing secrecy about his cancer and treatment has spurred some outrageously false media reports, including a mistakenly published obituary by Bloomberg financial newswire in 2008. But instead of using these media glitches as an opportunity for advocacy, Jobs has just laughed them off - even jokingly quoting Mark Twain: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated".

So it was no surprise that Jobs made big news in March 2010 when he agreed to stand by Arnold Schwarzenegger's side at a press conference introducing new organ donor legislation. In front of reporters, Jobs publicly revealed that he had received a liver transplant in 2009, and spoke passionately about needing a "media campaign" to make an otherwise uniformed public aware of the need for organ donations. Again - Jobs said nothing about his rare underlying cancer, which is most likely the reason why he had to get a liver transplant in the first place.

Jobs's comments were akin to a parent at a GM press conference arguing for better breaks after losing a child in a drunk driving accident. While no one can argue against the importance of organ donations (or breaks), the root cause of the tragedy remains buried thereby squandering a unique opportunity to emotionally reach people on a life-saving issue.

I understand that Jobs is considered an indispensable asset to consumer confidence in Apple, which in turn affects stock prices; but as Charles de Gualle once said, "the graveyards of the world are filled with indispensable men." What if Jobs's legacy wasn't simply a cool phone and snazzy computer? What if he stopped looking for the hottest new gadget and started inspiring others to look for a cure for neuroendocrine tumors?

Charles de Gualle also said, "Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own." I hope that someday Jobs will make the fight against neuroendocrine tumors and carcinoid cancer his own, and use his iconic status to convince the world to join him.