Steve Jobs may have just 6 weeks to live, says tabloid

Apple chief Steve Jobs who is suffering from pancreatic cancer may have just six weeks to live, a United States-based online publication has said.

Jobs who took medical leave in January, had said in an email to employees, "At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health".

"I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company."

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Radar Online confirmed that Jobs, 55, has been attending the Stanford Cancer Center in Palo Alto, California, where Hollywood star Patrick Swayze had sought radical chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer before his death in September 2009.

In 2004, the computer genius had surgery for pancreatic cancer, while in 2009, he had a liver transplant.

Radar Online described Jobs as 'skeletal-looking', and said that the US newspaper National Enquirer would run pictures of Jobs outside the clinic in its next issue.

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Physician Dr Samuel Jacobson also told the Enquirer that judging from the photos, he is 'close to terminal'.

"I would say he has six weeks," he said, as reported by NY Daily News.

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Timeline of Jobs' illness:

October 2003: Jobs is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

August 1, 2004: Jobs, then 49, disclosed that he had a successful surgery to remove the malignant tumour.

June 9, 2008: Jobs, while introducing the iPhone 3G at Apple's developers' conference, appeared thinner and frail.

July 26, 2008: New York Times columnist Joe Nocera wrote that he spoke on the phone with Jobs, who said his health problems weren't life-threatening.

September 9, 2008: Jobs joked about news of his death while introducing new iPod media players at an event in San Francisco.

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December 16, 2008: Apple says that Jobs won't be giving his usual speech at the Macworld conference, renewing concerns about his health.

January 5, 2009: Jobs says he is suffering from a hormone imbalance, causing him to lose weight.

January 14, 2009: Jobs gives up day-to-day operations to Cook until June, saying his health problems are more complex than originally thought. "I look forward to seeing all of you this summer," he said in a letter to employees.

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Steve Jobs is a phenomenon, to say the least. He runs the world's most-valued technology company but when it comes to pay, Apple's iconic chief Steve Jobs has been taking home a salary of just $1 at least for the past three years.

Jobs, who rejoined Apple in 1997, is the brain behind many best-selling gadgets such as iPhone, iPad and iPods.

Interestingly, his compensation comes as a sharp contrast to many CEOs worldwide, who get huge pay packets -- an issue which was also blamed for the financial meltdown in 2008-09.

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Jobs also owns 5.5 million of the company's common stock. Apple is considered the second most-valued company in terms of market capitalisation. The company, listed on the Nasdaq, had a market value of over $321 billion on January 17, 2011.

Apple's chief operating officer Timothy Cook -- widely considered as the successor to Jobs -- received a compensation of $59 million. This includes a bonus of $5 million and stock awards worth $52.3 million.