Apple: Steve is in good health

Despite recent rumors to the contrary, Apple Computer chief executive Steve Jobs remains in good health, an Apple spokesperson said this week.

Following Jobs' appearance at last week's Apple World Wide Developers Conference, several online news and blog sites expressed concerns about the Apple co-founder's health, as he appeared to have shed considerable weight since prior public appearances.

The reports also questioned why Jobs, who often relishes in the limelight of his keynote speeches, delegated a large portion of his WWDC presentation to other capable but less compelling Apple speakers.

"Steve's health is robust and we have no idea where these rumors are coming from," Apple's VP of worldwide corporate communications, Katie Cotton, told Information Week in response to the reports.

Still, the concerns over Jobs' health were not without basis. In August of 2004, he underwent a successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his pancreas.

In an email to Apple employees at the time, Jobs said he was diagnosed with a very rare form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, which is typically cured by surgical removal if diagnosed in time (which his was).

Jobs took a leave from his duties at Apple that August in order to recuperate but returned to work the following month.