Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer has a dismal survival rate, surely one reason the business world has been abuzz in recent weeks over the gaunt appearance of Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs. Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004 but underwent surgery. He said the tumor was caught early and that he had fully recovered. Jobs had good reason to be optimistic at that time.

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs broke with his usual code of secrecy Monday to explain his health problems, but the disclosure that a hormone imbalance was causing his noticeable weight loss will probably do little to tamp down concerns. Medical experts said a hormone imbalance in a pancreatic cancer survivor raises red flags about a possible recurrence. Jobs said in 2004 that he had undergone surgery to treat a rare form of the deadly disease.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, only the second woman to serve on the nation's highest court, had surgery Thursday for pancreatic cancer, a highly lethal form of the disease that the court said in a statement was caught in its early stages. The cancer was discovered during a routine scan in late January. Ginsburg, 75, who was treated for colon cancer in 1999, had experienced no symptoms before the discovery, the court said.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg went home from the hospital Friday with an encouraging lab report that found no sign her cancer had spread. The 75-year-old had surgery a week ago to remove a tumor on her pancreas. A 1-centimeter pancreatic lesion spotted by CT scan last month proved benign, according to her surgeon.

Don Hewitt, the innovative television news pioneer who changed the face of broadcast journalism in 1968 as the creator and executive producer of "60 Minutes," the long-running CBS News powerhouse that launched the TV newsmagazine genre and turned a ticking stopwatch into a journalistic icon, died today. He was 86. Hewitt, who spent more than 60 years at CBS and shared or individually won an array of honors, including Emmy and Peabody awards, died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Bridgehampton, N.Y., the network announced.

Patrick Swayze, the actor and classically trained dancer whose role in the enduringly popular "Dirty Dancing" made him a movie star, one who struggled with the alienation of fame and against being typecast as a leading man, died Monday. He was 57. Swayze, who also starred in the blockbuster film "Ghost," died in Los Angeles with his family at his side, his publicist, Annett Wolf, said. Early last year, Swayze learned he had pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis that came two weeks after production wrapped on the pilot of "The Beast," an A&E series in which he starred as an unorthodox FBI agent.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that her surgery for pancreatic cancer last month was successful and that she was scheduled to begin a precautionary round of chemotherapy this month. Ginsburg said in a statement issued by the U.S. Supreme Court that her Feb. 5 procedure was "a complete, successful surgical removal of a pancreatic cancer" and that she would start chemotherapy at the National Institutes of Health. Ginsburg, 76, has not missed a session of the court since the diagnosis -- just as she did not miss any sessions when she battled colon cancer 10 years ago. She said she did not anticipate having to skip work because of chemotherapy, either.

Steve Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive of Apple Inc., received a liver transplant about two months ago in Tennessee but is expected to return to work this month, according to a published report. The charismatic CEO -- widely credited for the success in recent years of the maker of the iPhone, iPod and Mac computers -- began a medical leave of absence in January for an undisclosed condition. He handed his day-to-day management duties to Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, until the end of June.

Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin calmly announced Friday that doctors expect him to die within a year from the pancreatic cancer he has fought for 14 months. "I can say with all sincerity that I am at peace," said Bernardin, the 68-year-old leader of Chicago's 2.3 million Roman Catholics. Bernardin had been given less than a 25% chance of surviving for five years after surgery for pancreatic cancer in June 1995. He said Friday that tests showed the cancer has spread to his liver.