Why did Steve Jobs choose not to effectively treat his cancer?

While the answer to the question is quite good, the rant at the end really considers any kind of skepticism towards medicine "mumbo-jumbo". The key point is the accuracy of the medical prediction from the measurements. If you indeed have a tumor of the kind Jobs had, then it is certain that you will have problems. However, if you have mild hypertension or high cholesterol, you might have a problem, or then you might not. Treatment itself can cause problems of similar magnitude, and therefore being skeptical can be well founded.

> dihydrogen oxide

Water's chemical composition name might sound scary while being harmless, unfortunately, the drugs and procedures for cancer treatment are far from harmless, so let's do away with the 'western medicine is always right for everyone' attitude. This is in general most doctor's point of view, and I can understand it, as it is their area of study and practice.

There is another side to this that is mostly unexplored in America. The idea of a dignified, medically unassisted walk in to death. Some people may be ready to die and that is ok. Not everyone wants to be torn apart with knives and chemicals, for a 65% chance of living 10 more years.

The more information that comes out about how medical costs are dolled out at a rate of 80% in the last years of life causing severe unhappiness, depression, and ultimate body failure should shock us all in to taking a look at how we fear and treat the potential for death. Dying in America is torturous. Maybe it's time we stop fearing it and start trying to understand it in a deeper sense.

Much of my option is informed from this Fresh air interview with Dr. Sherwin Nuland on dealing with cancer in America: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/07/287272150/fresh-air-remembers-...