Steve Jobs & his liver transplant

Life is not fair.

Not knowing all the details of Jobs illness..I can't really comment to his case...but

If I had the resources and was told that this would prolong my life with some quality...I would do it. 

I would share the wealth if I had it, to give others the chance as well.

Money talks in our society; on all levels of the "class" structure.

Frankly, he deserved a shot with the liver transplant. Losers like David Crosby, however, who purposefully destroyed their liver, do not.

My initial CT scan showed some tiny dots on my liver that the doctors weren't sure about. I asked my onc if they turned out to be cancer, could I have a transplant. She said I could not and that most cancer patients couldn't. Fortunately, my dots weren't cancer.

I don't know a lot about pancreatic cancer, so I can't say how much a liver transplant would help. I do know that some of the anti-rejection drugs they give organ recipients can make you more susceptible to cancer, because the drugs try to keep the immune system from attacking foreign objects; that's good for the donated organ, but it lets cancer cells grow more freely. That may come into play when decisions are made about who receives an organ.

Yes, it's unfair that he jumped to the front of the line. Unfortunately, a whole lotta life is unfair. Money does seem to skew the fairness in one's favor at times; however, all the money in the world doesn't make you immortal. There are a lot of poor and middle-class 56-year-olds who woke up this morning with something Steve Jobs doesn't have...life.

pickle, I've rethought my post. Yes, everyone deserves a second chance. I am sorry I hit a sore spot with you. I'm grumpy today and shouldn't have called anyone a loser. I still don't deny Steve Jobs the opportunity to have had one though.

Just wanted to add that Celtic Spirit, I loved your post.

Plantlover, great topic because it highlights the role of medical care as a commodity in our country. Your quality of care is directly influenced by how much you can pay for it (or if you can pay for it at all). All of this BC awareness is BS awareness if I know I should get something checked out but I don't have the money to do it, or I don't have a PCM to go to in between screenings to authorize additional tests. If you cannot afford insurance, what in the world would you do if you got BC? I am insured (and retired Air Force) and I have maxed out my catastrophic cap.  I shudder every time I look at the cash prices on my insurance statements. There are huge issues with health disparities based on class, race and gender...you may have heard the story of the man here in AZ who was on the list for a kidney and it came through...right at the same time the state cut funding for his healthcare. His family watched him die and it was all about his inability to pay. How can that happen in a country like ours? It was all over the news, his family by his bedside. How come someone enormously wealthy didn't come through and pay for it? Our country doesn't lack money and resources to ensure at least adequate medical care for everyone...we just lack the capacity/spirit to find it in our hearts to distribute the resources where people won't needlessly die in the middle of a large American city surrounded by modern medicine that could easily save them.

K, that was my steroid rant for the day:) Thanks for the topic...

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting,  Pager Always In Hand... Have You Been There?

I read with great interest your post regarding Steve Jobs and his liver transplant. The National Organ Procurement Association really cares not at all if your name is Steve Jobs, George Bush, or Jim Smith when a transplantable organ becomes available. Actually, they do not know your name at all - they only know your vital stats and your predicted length of life without the new organ.

I suppose someone could "pay someone off" to buy a liver but in the US this is rare if in fact it exists at all. To receive an organ, you require far more than money and a name many people recognize. The organ must be a perfect fit for you and this is much more difficult than you can imagine. If it is estimated you will live longer then 72 hours without the organ, you are not in contention for the organ for someone needs it more than you and they will be the one who receives it as they should.

IF you meet the requirements, (MONEY is not one of them) you are considered for the organ. If you are really fortunate, your pager alerts you to call the hospital and you start the long process of evaluation once more. Perhaps you will be the one chosen. For most of those waiting on the list, the pager never beeps and they die waiting. 

I am grateful Steve Jobs was one of the lucky ones! I do not think he "purchased" an organ any more than my Father purchased his. I bet he waited for that pager to tell him "this day is your lucky day" just the same as my Father did. 

Please be careful before you imply someone has received an organ without justification! If you have never been on the other end of this waiting with pager in hand, you really have no idea what it is like.

Mr. Jobs worked for $1 a year for he did not need money! He donated $150 million to the University of California Cancer Center. This center has no connection to the National Organ Procurement Association.The list of his other charitable contributions is immense.

How much is a liver? A heart? I don't know for they were  and are not for sale. I seriously doubt Steve Jobs knew the price of a liver either and I would bet my bottom dollar he waited his turn. That is the kind of man he was.

I agree with Apple that this thread makes me sad....I didn't know Steve Jobs and other than my ipod, did not own apple products....but the man was a person who died of cancer....that is sad.....money does not buy us health or guarantee a long life Steve Jobs is proof of that dying at the young age of 56.....I hate cancer....I hate that I had BC and I hate that people continue to die from this dreaded disease......Lets honor this man's memory....like we should all people, rich, poor, good or bad.....it is not our place to judge....

What happened to respect?This man who has made a significant contribution to the world with his invention should be honoured not slammed for having had a liver transplant. Sorry, I don't get your point at all

What a very sad thread this is indeed.  IMHO, this type of conversation is very inappropriate given he only passed yesterday.  RIP Steve Jobs.  You contributed so much and you will be missed.

Just to turn this a bit.  I did not realize until I read this that now they probably wouldn't take my organs since I've had BC.  I've signed the donor section of my license since I've had one.  I think it is such a no-brainer.  So, you all prompted me to ask on Facebook if any of my friends would consider signing theirs for me since I can't any longer.  Maybe another donor will sign because of this post and save some lives.   

So, there's a positive turn. 

I read somewhere that his pancreatic cancer was the most treatable one, so maybe this factored in the decision process?

Still I think it's in poor taste to say the man bought his transplant, not even 24 hours after his death, doesn't matter who he is. He was 56 and cancer killed him....

I only have a minute and have read only the original post, so sorry in advance if I am missing something that may change what I am about to say:

*  The man just died.  I really don't think this is the time to be criticizing what, if any, benefit he received due to his financial status.  Particularly if you do not even know that he got any sort of benefit.  Is this just a guess on your part?

*  I do not know the details of his medical condition.  Was the liver transplant even related to his cancer?  Maybe it was damaged due to treatment, not tumors? 

*  I know nothing of pancreatic cancer or transplants as a treatment for liver mets, but in my limited experience, treatment standards seem to vary between the different cancers.  Maybe this is an accepted treatment plan for what he had.

*  Assuming for the sake of argument that he got special treatment because he is rich . . . well, if I were in his shoes and thought it would save my life, I would do the same.  All that money means nothing if you are dead.  It sucks that rich people have advantages that poor people do not have, but that is life.  It has always been that way and always will be.  I cannot fault him for taking advantage of all resources available to him, including his substantial bank account.  That is, assuming he even did that.

My two cents worth. 

I agree it is really inappropriate at this time.....or any time, since all we know of his disease progression is pure conjecture.

I did ,however, hear a tape this morning,of Steve Jobs talking about his initial diagnosis - and he was originally told he had 3 - 6 months to live. Apparently after a biopsy, the surgeons 'cried ' (his words)because his was a very unusual TREATABLE kind of pancreatic cancer.We really do not know why he had a liver transplant and whether it was directly connected to his original dx.

So the discussion I find in very poor taste.

Frankly, I think it's a good discussion, and one that might not have come up except for Steve Jobs's death. I don't think the gist of it is about Steve Jobs's character; it's about whether as cancer patients we can have liver transplants or transplants of any kind. I know I was surprised and rather dismayed to hear that I was ineligible for a liver transplant if I had bc mets to my liver.

I also recently asked my onc if I could donate blood and was told "not until five years after treatment." I have a rare blood type...one that I share with a very good friend. We had a pact that we'd always "be there" for each other. Now I can't. I'm not sure if I can be an organ donor now or ever. And because the anti-rejection drugs might act like fertilizer on a tulip to any cancer cells I have, I might not be able to receive an organ, even a kidney. I think these are important things to think about and discuss.

I'm very fortunate to have excellent medical coverage through my job, and believe me, I thought about that a lot during treatment. I tried to imagine what it would be like to deal with a cancer diagnosis and have to worry whether or not I could afford surgery or even Tamoxifen. Imagine how bad you felt during chemo and, on top of it, you have to fight with your insurance to approve each treatment. That's a reality for many people in this world, and there are a number of Americans who decline necessary treatment because they don't want to bankrupt their families. This is not a slam on Steve Jobs and his money. This is just saying that money...or the good fortunate to have a job with insurance...can influence your treatment. That's not poor taste, that's reality.