Apple CEO Jobs' life not in danger: report

Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:05pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs, who has been dogged by investor concerns about his health, does not have recurrent cancer or a life-threatening health issue, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

"While his health problems amounted to a good deal more than 'a common bug,' they weren't life-threatening and he doesn't have a recurrence of cancer," journalist Joe Nocera wrote in a column.

Nocera said he spoke to the Apple CEO about his health.

"Because the conversation was off the record, I cannot disclose what Mr. Jobs told me," Nocera said.

An Apple spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

In 2004, Jobs, 53, announced he had undergone successful surgery to remove a rare type of pancreatic cancer.

Concerns about his health roared back last month, when a thinner-than-usual Jobs introduced the latest iteration of the iPhone at a conference in San Francisco.

Apple, which first attributed the weight loss to a common bug, has said repeatedly Jobs' health is a private matter. The lack of disclosure from the company -- well-known for its secrecy -- caused investors and analysts to fret.

On Wednesday, the Times reported Jobs had told associates he was doing well and was cancer free.

Citing people close to Jobs, the article said Jobs had told associates and Apple directors he was dealing with nutritional problems in the wake of his cancer surgery and that he had had surgery this year to fix a problem contributing to his weight loss.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; editing by Todd Eastham)