Comment by jgrahamc | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jgrahamc | Hacker News Reader

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Many years ago a colleague, Steve Holtzman, suddenly discovered he had colon cancer. Within a year he had faded away (it seemed almost literally) and was gone. He had money and access to the best doctors, but he wasn't vigilant (he had ignored odd weight loss and bowel trouble) and so it was too late.

Although Jobs didn't die of a "man's disease" there are lots of men killers out there that can be stopped if you look for the signs. But talking to men around me we are often reluctant to go and see a doctor for regular health checks.

If you have a smoke alarm in your home, it's not because you expect a fire, but because you want to be warned if there is one. Think the same way about your own health: a visit to the doctor for an annual medical is a smoke alarm for your body.

PS In the UK if you are over 40 then the NHS offers a free "Health Check" (http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/NHSHealthCheck/Pages/NHSHealthChe...) that screens for common adult diseases. It's free. Go do it.

In January 2009 I was Stage 5 chronic kidney disease, in July 2009 I had a kidney transplant.

Looking back there were so many telltale signs that I had over the last six months, which I was ignoring as I was busy building my startup. A regular health check has the potential to catch a problem like this. I now nag each of my friends and family in having an annual health check.

Its the best time you can spend.

This was not the first time I made a mistake like this. When I was a kid, I had trouble seeing my teacher's blackboard. I just kept moving closer to the blackboard. I saw a doctor when I had trouble understanding what the teacher was writing from the first row.

Problems like this creep up on you over years, and they are so gradual you don't realize them.

You wont run your site without a Google Analytics/Pingdom. Dont do it with your life. If you haven't had a health check, get it done today.

> I now nag each of my friends and family in having an annual health check.

I had an aunt and an uncle (from different sides and don't know each other) fight off cancer 5 years ago. After they were deemed "cured", they still didn't learn the lesson of an annual health check. Around 1 year ago they both started to feel strange symptoms and went to checkup again. They found out not only had the cancer recurred but that it had spread to many parts of their bodies. The doctors recommended a couple of treatments but weeks later they said there was nothing more they could do.

In July and August they both passed away, within 3 weeks of each other. (Right after my grandmother too, and of course it's been emotional for me.)

It appears this applied to S.J too. (If he died of recurring cancer.)

But, convincing anyone (including me, a 21 year old) of annual checkup is hard. The thinking goes: we've been fine for all our lives/ is too young to get sick, why worry?

When your trying to loose weight, finding if there is anything else that might be making it hard can be helpful. Taking a blood test and finding out you have iron problems could literally save your life. 4 Hour Body kind of drills regular testing to see how your body is doing, and those accurate tests can be a wake up call. Seeing 30% body fat from a DXA scan surprised me a bit, since I estimated I was around 25% At the very least do it once or twice if you've never had a comprehensive blood test and a DXA scan to see where you are now and possibly catch things you've never tested for even once.

If your the typical fat american too, pre-diabetes and heart attacks happen to 20-somethings too. It's estimated in about a decade from now, %50 of the US population will be diabetic/pre-diabetic. Cancer can occur also, I know people who've died of cancer in their 30s, and pretty much the only way to somewhat avoid/'cure' cancer is the earliest possible detection, and that's no where near foolproof even then.

Weight gain can sneak up on you too even if your not doing too much that's different in your diet and exercise. I'm 25 and I'm starting to thin out in my hair region. Aging can catch up to you quicker than you think and if you have health insurance and an income, taking your health seriously and spending money on things like these can really reap benefits in the future.

Look into spelling and punctuation while you're at it. You may lose your hair, but you can keep your ability to write grammatical sentences well into old age.

Berating someone on spelling and grammar on an fleeting internet forum that no one will read in a few days is reflection on your social skills too. For shame.

My berating is as fleeting as that which I berate. If I do have poor social skills, should I feel "shame"?

And I, just now, walked into my home office after a trip to my doctor for a check-up ... a check-up I'd been putting off for 2 years or so. The timing is impeccable with what happened yesterday in mr. Jobs' passing.

Health and your personal well-being have never been more important to me than it is now. I've lost 50+ pounds in the last 6 months because I couldn't ignore my health problems any more. It got to be too important that I pay attention. Another thing I've lost? My sister. She was 36 years old. She died from a pulmonary embolism while she was getting ready to go to work as an ICU nurse. Ironically, she was a nurse who rarely (if ever) saw a doctor and ended up passing away because she didn't know she was prone to easy blood clotting.

If that's not a wake up call, I don't know what is.

Why will I miss Steve Jobs? Not the iphones and macbooks and ipads that I've bought and enjoyed immensely - but the lesson that tomorrow is no sure thing and to live today as if it's not. This particular lesson is what I'll always remember about this man. He helped us get all of this wonderful STUFF, purchased with money, but the journey that got Apple there is entirely without a price tag.

Hug your family members first. Tell them to literally take care of themselves immediately after.

This was not the first time I made a mistake like this. When I was a kid, I had trouble seeing my teacher's blackboard. I just kept moving closer to the blackboard. I saw a doctor when I had trouble understanding what the teacher was writing from the first row.

Until I read this, I had forgotten about my own history of mild myopia: I had a mandatory eye exam at 14, which detected the problem, but I was too vain to tell my parents about it, because I didn't want to wear glasses. 3 years of straining to read the board in class followed (which probably dropped my performance in school significantly). When I turned 17 and wanted to drive, I caved and got glasses and contacts. It was an amazing change in quality of life, and by the time I was 22 I had LASIK.

Thanks for reminding me of this: I'm going to make sure I get my own kids' eyes tested at least annually.

I'm curious about the the eye thing. Did you just need glasses? It wouldn't ruin your eyes if you could see well enough form the first row, would it?

In children, myopia typically starts as a small problem and gradually grows as the child grows. The flaw wouldn't necessarily get more serious without glasses, it's a matter of knowing that the child has it and possibly needs glasses. Not being able to see the board clearly can be an educational problem.

In my elementary school, we had mandatory semi-informal eye exams. My myopia got diagnosed around grade two or three in one of these exams.

What were the signs?

In light of this, can anyone recommend any self-employed/entrepreneur health plans in the USA that provide reasonable coverage for preventive testing and checkups?

The Freelancers Union is pretty competitive in my market (NYC). Not that it's good coverage, but they do cover a physical and vision test every two years (I think).

Of course, it's a hell of a lot more expensive than it should be, but I was unable to find anything better for a self-employed single person.

I think the stress and pressure of running a company also may have contributed to Job's health. He may have had pancreatic problems nonetheless, but the stress, lack of sleep, eating fast food at his desk, etc couldn't have been beneficial. Jobs may have contributed a lot to society, but he probably paid a huge price for it.

First of all, if you know a little bit about Steve Jobs, you'll know he wasn't likely a big fast food eater.

Secondly, I think Steve Jobs would have been much worse off if he had stepped down as CEO.

Steve Jobs needed Apple as much as Apple needed Steve Jobs.

I don't know about his diet, but I do know it's virtually impossible to have healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities he has. He might have needed Apple, but there is a chance he put his body over the limit and ignored symptoms

> I don't know about his diet, but I do know it's virtually impossible to have healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities he has. He might have needed Apple, but there is a chance he put his body over the limit and ignored symptoms

How do you know? He is reported to have spent a lot of time with his family. It is, in fact, quite possible to lead a very busy lifestyle and still remain healthy. I'm sure many of us here do exactly that.

Wouldn't you imagine when you get to his level, you really have the money/power to set your own responsibilities? At the very least, ordering whatever food you might want, having a personal trainer, the best executive health care, etc.

I have no clue whether these were things Jobs did, but he was hardly starting a company here.

He's a vegetarian for most of his life.

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