Connie Guglielmo, Rochelle Garner and Jason Gale reported for Bloomberg this morning that Apple CEO Steve Job may need to have his pancreas removed, if Robert Thomas, head of surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, is correct. Thomas was the first to perform the Whipple operation—which involves removing parts of the pancreas, bile duct and small intestine, and which sometimes results in having to remove the entire pancreas. Jobs underwent a procedure similar to the Whipple operation after he was diagnosed with a rare type of pancreatic cancer in 2004. It should be noted, though, that Thomas is not Jobs’ doctor, and doesn’t know the details of his condition.

Apple stock (AAPL) dropped nearly 18% yesterday, reaching their lowest level in over a year. The tumble came after RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky and Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty each cut their ratings on Apple’s stock in anticipation of slower earnings growth for the current quarter and fiscal year. They believe the continuing downturn in the economy will see fewer consumers spending the premium for Macintosh computers, and will instead focus on the sub $1,000 PC market, which Apple currently avoids.

But, if you have plans to call your analyst today, it may be wiser to buy, than to sell, according to Computerworlds Seth Weintraub.