Carly Simon reveals Parkinson’s disease and cancer diagnosis
Carly Simon has revealed that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and has undergone surgery for basal cell carcinoma.
Carly Simon has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the singer revealed in a new interview.
Simon, the beloved pop rocker known for ’70s hits including “You’re So Vain,” “Nobody Does It Better” and “Mockingbird,” made the health revelation in a statement to USA TODAY Monday, July 27. People magazine was the first to report the news.
“So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing. The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease,” Simon, 83, told the outlet. “It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly.”
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative syndrome that results in the slow loss of brain circuitry involved in movement, thinking and behavior. It can cause tremors, stiffness, slowness and falls, in addition to anxiety, depression and sleep dysfunction.
“Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable,” said Simon, whose battle with the disease began with arthritis in the knees and one of her hips. “Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work and feel like myself.”
Simon said she underwent three replacement surgeries to treat her affected joints, but her mobility “continued to worsen.”
“I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm,” Simon continued. “Overstuffed furniture became my enemy. Once seated, I could feel as though I had been swallowed by the chair and might remain there permanently, like a guest who had badly overstayed her welcome.”
Parkinson’s is an incurable disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. But various medicines and treatments can help manage symptoms.
“There is no tidy or predictable schedule to the illness,” Simon said. “It does not consult my calendar before deciding what kind of day I am going to have.”
The singer also shared that she had surgery for basal cell carcinoma amid her Parkinson’s diagnosis and treatment. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
“During this same period, I was also treated for basal cell carcinoma on my face,” she said. “The cancer was removed, but the surgery affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public. I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine.”
In addition to her physical symptoms, the Grammy-winning singer also got candid on the mental toll of living with Parkinson’s disease, which she said can include “anxiety, depression, exhaustion and apathy.”
“The apathy is particularly strange,” Simon said. “You can find yourself lying there like a starfish drying in the sun, arms pointing in all directions, while nothing inside is telling you to get up, read, watch, write, sing, call someone or do much of anything at all. That has been one of the hardest things to explain. It is not simply sadness or laziness. It is as though the part of the brain that sends out invitations to participate in life has temporarily misplaced the guest list.”
Carly Simon opens up about navigating ‘frightening’ Parkinson’s disease
Simon, who’s maintained a low profile in recent years, said stepping back from the spotlight became a coping strategy amid her various health problems.
“Between my mobility issues, the Parkinson’s diagnosis, the surgery and the emotional effects of it all, withdrawing from public view was the most palatable reaction,” Simon said. “If a person is allowed to hibernate during both winter and summer, then I have become an all-season bear. But I have not stopped living, and I have not stopped working.”
The prolific singer-songwriter turned to music, channeling the emotional turmoil of her recent experiences into her new album “Comes in Waves,” which is set for an Aug. 14 release.
“Music has always known when to arrive. It has rescued me more times [than] I can count,” Simon said. “It is like a cat or dog that quietly appears beside you when it senses you are not quite yourself.”
Simon said the musical project, her 24th studio effort to date, “gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room,” as well as “reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life.”
“I do not consider Parkinson’s a gift or a blessing. It is neither,” the singer said. “It is difficult, frustrating and sometimes frightening. I am still learning how to live with it and how to accept it without feeling that I have surrendered something essential.”
The pop icon said she wanted to share her diagnosis “because so many people have reached out with genuine concern,” adding, “I am touched by that concern, even when I have not known how to respond.”
“I am still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering and occasionally getting trapped in an overstuffed chair,” Simon said. “These days I move more slowly, I lean on others more than I once did and I have learned to accept that every day will look a little different. But I am still very much here.”
This story has been updated to add new informaiton.
Contributing: Karen Weintraub and Anika Reed, USA TODAY