Carly Simon has issued a major health update after revealing that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and has also been treated for basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
Confirming the news on Monday (27 July), the singer, famed for her 197 hit 'You're So Vain,’ issued a statement to People. It reads, "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.
"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 is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. 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."
Carly, 83, recalled learning of her Parkinson's diagnosis after experiencing "arthritis in both knees and one hip," which prompted her to get three replacement surgeries on her joints. "I assumed my difficulty walking was simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process," the singer continued. "But my mobility continued to worsen. I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm."
Following an "extensive evaluation" at the Mayo Clinic, Carly was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and during this period, she also received treatment for basal cell carcinoma on her face, which left her "more self-conscious about being seen in public."
"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," Carly noted. "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 Grammy Award winner reiterated that she's still writing and singing and thanked her friends, family members and medical professionals for their support.
