What To Know
- Carly Simon, 83, revealed she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and has undergone treatment for skin cancer.
- She described the challenges of adapting to her diagnoses.
- Despite her health struggles, Simon hasn’t stopped working or living her life.
Carly Simon announced two major health diagnoses — Parkinson’s disease and skin cancer — in a lengthy statement ahead of the release of her new album.
On Monday, July 27, the “You’re So Vain” singer, 83, offered an unexpected health update explaining her absence from the spotlight.
“So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing,” she said in a statement shared with People, Variety, and other outlets. “The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease.”
Simon admitted that it took her “some time to understand the diagnosis and adjust to it,” noting that her symptoms can be “unpredictable” and vary widely day-to-day. Her health issues started with arthritis in both knees and one hip. Eventually, she had all three joints replaced, but her mobility issues worsened.
“I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm. Overstuffed furniture became my enemy,” Simon recounted. “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.”
During this same time in her life, the “Nobody Does It Better” singer said she was also treated for basal cell carcinoma on her face.
“The cancer was removed, but the surgery affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public,” she shared. “I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine (check out the irony of having written ‘You’re So Vain.’), and this gave my inner critic quite a lot of new material.”
Simon admitted that the “emotional effects” of her diagnoses meant that “withdrawing from public view was the most palatable reaction.” She added, “But I have not stopped living, and I have not stopped working.”
Additionally, Simon noted that she started recording a new album, Comes in Waves — which will be released on August 14 — amid her health battles. It will be her first since 2008.
“I do not consider Parkinson’s a gift or a blessing. It is neither. It is difficult, frustrating, and sometimes frightening,” she confessed. “I am still learning how to live with it and how to accept it without feeling that I have surrendered something essential.”
Simon continued, “I am still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering, and occasionally getting trapped in an overstuffed chair.”
To conclude her update, Simon wrote, “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.”