Carly Simon has revealed that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and cancer.
The 83-year-old singer-songwriter, best known for classic hits like ‘You’re So Vain’, ‘Why’ and James Bond theme ‘Nobody Does It Better’, said in a lengthy statement on Instagram that her most recent absence from the spotlight had been due to her ongoing health issues.
She said: “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.”
She added: “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.”
Simon said her problems started with arthritis in both knees and one of her hips and that her mobility failed to improve after three replacement surgeries.
She said she eventually had all three joints replaced with “delicate bouquets of metal and plastic”.
“I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm,” Simon wrote. “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.
“Eventually, there were periods when I could not walk without considerable help. My family and I knew that something more was going on. After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.”
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition that affects the brain, nervous system, and muscle control.
Simon has been receiving medication and treatment; but said the condition also comes with episodes of anxiety, depression, and apathy.
She continued: “The apathy is particularly strange. 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.”
Simon also said she had received treatment for basal cell carcinoma, a common type of cancer that starts in the top layer of skin, on her face. She said it was removed but the surgery affected her appearance and made her more self-conscious about being seen in public.
She added: “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.”
Despite her health issues, she confirmed that she has continued to record new music with a new album, ‘Comes In Waves’, set for release next month.
She added: “I do not consider Parkinson’s a gift or a blessing. It is neither. 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.
“I am still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering, and occasionally getting trapped in an overstuffed chair. I am deeply grateful to my children, my family, my friends, my caregivers, and the medical professionals who have helped me through this. Their love and patience have carried me through days when my own reserves were not enough.”
