Steve Jobs' Official Cause of Death Listed as Respiratory Arrest and Pancreatic Tumor - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Steve Jobs' Official Cause of Death Listed as Respiratory Arrest and Pancreatic Tumor

jobs
Bloomberg reports that Steve Jobs' death certificate has been released, citing respiratory arrest and a pancreatic tumor as the cause of death. Jobs died last Wednesday at approximately 3:00 PM Pacific time.

Steve Jobs died at home of respiratory arrest and a pancreatic tumor at about 3 p.m. on Oct. 5, according to his death certificate. His occupation was listed as “entrepreneur.”

The Santa Clara County Public Health Department in San Jose, California, released the document today.

While many had assumed that Jobs' death was ultimately related to the rare form of pancreatic cancer for which he was initially treated back in 2004, official word on Jobs' ailments over the past few years has been scant. Jobs underwent a liver transplant in April 2009, but even at that time the transplant was described as treating an "undisclosed medical condition" and his condition had initially been described as a "hormone imbalance" when he went on a medical leave of absence early that year.

Jobs took his final leave of absence in January of this year, with sources reporting at the time that he was dealing "immune system issues common with people who have received liver transplants" and not necessarily continued battles with pancreatic cancer.

A private funeral for Jobs was held last Friday, and Apple will be holding a celebration of his life for company employees on Wednesday, October 19th.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...

Top Rated Comments

tofagerl Avatar
189 months ago
Listing Steve as an "Entrepeneur" is kind of like listing Elvis Presley as "Performer". Sure, he did that, but... There's so much more!
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Voidness Avatar
189 months ago
Cancer is evil.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
emw Avatar
189 months ago
My mother recently passed away from pancreatic cancer...
It's easy for us to get caught up in the "magnitude" of losing Steve Jobs, but in the end it is the people closest to us that ultimately shape our lives in the biggest ways.

Your mother may not have changed our lives, but she certainly did yours. My condolences to you and your family for your loss.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
189 months ago
after almost a week, still feels like a huge hole has been ripped through the earth...
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
189 months ago
I remember the last few keynotes, he sounded very low and his voice was changed from previous keynotes. I wonder if that is related to the respiratory issues as the COD.

I also remember when he came out for the last keynote in June and how flattered he was at the ovation he received. I wonder if he knew then that his time left would be short
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
189 months ago
I hope it was a comfortable and peaceful passing.

Rest in peace, Steve.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)