Risk

A friend of mine passed this "risk" piece along courtesy of her friend a prominent vascular surgeon living in Washington, DC:

I am a huge Jobs fan, but the doctor makes an compelling case for assessing risk.

 

The writer, a surgeon, is making a case for surgery over nonsurgical treatment. This is about as compelling as walking into a barbershop and being told you need a haircut.

 

The doctor was simply stating that there was no data to support diet as a solution. How does your response counter that?

 

I agree, that is what he is trained to do.

Also, the surgeon is accepting at face value Mr Jobs comment to treat his condition with diet. It is less antagonizing than telling the Dr "I prefer no treatment, I have other things to do with the time I have left." Or, Mr Jobs has no faith in the outcome of surgery.

But I do understand the point the author made regarding risk.

Successful people think they have the formula for success in everything and at some point are proven wrong or reach out too far one day and fail with drastic consequences.

 

Good points.

 

The Associated Press purchased a copy of the book Thursday. The book delves into Jobs’ decision to delay surgery for nine months after learning in October 2003 that he had a neuroendocrine tumor — a relatively rare type of pancreatic cancer that normally grows more slowly and is therefore more treatable. Instead, he tried a vegan diet, acupuncture, herbal remedies and other treatments he found online, and even consulted a psychic. He also was influenced by a doctor who ran a clinic that advised juice fasts, bowel cleansings and other unproven approaches, the book says, before finally having surgery in July 2004. Isaacson, quoting Jobs, writes in the book: “`I really didn’t want them to open up my body, so I tried to see if a few other things would work,’ he told me years later with a hint of regret.”