The death of beloved singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has drawn more attention to a rare form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma. A statement on Buffett’s website revealed that he had been battling Merkel cell carcinoma for four years. Buffett, 76, died on Friday. At his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, surrounded by family and friends. There are only about 3,000 new cases of Merkel cell carcinoma diagnosed each year in the United States. This specific type of skin cancer is aggressive and has a high risk of coming back. “Until this morning, we had several people asking about Merkel cell carcinoma,” said Dr. David Miller, director of the Merkel Cell Center at the General Cancer Center. The Merkel cell is a touch receptor in the skin, Miller said, and that cancer affects 2,500 people a year, mostly older men. “A bug bite never got better,” Miller said. According to Miller, most Merkel cell carcinoma patients have a virus that can lead to cancer. In many other cases, the cause of the cancer is sun exposure. Sarah Berg, MD, a dermatologist at DermWellesley, recommends people use a sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher that’s broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection, and reapply if you’ve been outside in the sun. “When you’re outside in the sun, but year-round anywhere that gets sun,” Berg said. “The key thing to prevention is sun protection.” Warning signs of skin cancer include any moles that look asymmetrical, have irregular borders, or are a different color and are new or changing. It can also be a painless bump that won’t go away. “I encourage patients if they have anything they’re concerned about, to reach out to their primary care physician or dermatologist,” Miller said. Doctors said that if Merkel cell carcinoma is caught early enough, it is treatable. Buffett has received some treatment for skin cancer, which he developed in Boston. In lieu of flowers, the Buffett family is asking for donations to Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, as well as the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the Jimmy Buffett Sing for Change Foundation. The show happened in New England two months ago, and Buffett made a surprise appearance at a Rhode Island restaurant in what ended up being his last musical performance in front of a crowd. McNally, a member of Buffett’s Choral River Band, was performing outdoors at Sunset Cove in Portsmouth on July 2. McAnally had a few songs in his repertoire, playing Alan Jackson’s No. 1 hit “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” the song that featured Buffett. A video from the show shows that as McNally begins to sing the lyric “In a moment like this, I can’t help but wonder, What would Jimmy Buffett do?” The audience at Sunset Cove started cheering and jumping from their seats when they saw Buffett walking onto the stage. In Latitudes and Changes in Attitude,” “Pirates Looking at Forty” and of course, “Margaritaville.” Zac Brown Band Pays Tribute to Buffett in Concert in New Hampshire Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band honored Buffett while performing in New Hampshire this past weekend. During their first of two shows at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Guilford on Saturday, the band played their own take on the song “Margaritaville” as a tribute to Buffett. Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffett first performed together in 2010 for an episode of “CMT Crossroads” and later collaborated on the country song 1 of 2011 “Knee Deep.” Instagram page. “It was an honor to know you and make music with you. it’s all over.”
The death of beloved singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has brought more attention to a rare form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma.
A statement on Buffett’s website revealed that he had been suffering from Merkel cell carcinoma for four years.
Buffett, 76, died on Friday at his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island, surrounded by his family and friends.
There are only about 3,000 new cases of Merkel cell carcinoma diagnosed each year in the United States. This type of skin cancer is aggressive and has a high risk of coming back.
“Until this morning, we had several people asking about Merkel cell carcinoma,” said Dr. David Miller, director of the Merkel Cell Center at Boston’s Comprehensive General Cancer Center.
The Merkel cell is a touch receptor in the skin, Miller said, and cancer affects 2,500 people a year, most of them older men.
“It can start as a painless bump, and many patients say they initially thought they had been bitten by an insect and it never got better,” Miller said.
According to Miller, most Merkel cell carcinoma patients have a virus that can lead to cancer. In many other cases, the cause of the cancer is sun exposure.
Dr. Sarah Berg, MD, a dermatologist at DermWellesley, recommends people use a sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher that’s broad-spectrum for UVA/UVB protection, and reapply if you’ve been outside in the sun.
“Not only is sunscreen used in the summer or when you’re out in the sun, but it’s available year-round anywhere you get sun,” Berg said. “The key thing to prevention is sun protection.”
Warning signs of skin cancer include any moles that look asymmetrical, have irregular borders, or are a different color and are new or changing. It can also be a painless bump that won’t go away.
“I encourage patients if they have anything they’re concerned about, to reach out to their primary care physician or dermatologist,” Miller said.
Doctors said that if Merkel cell carcinoma is caught early enough, it is treatable.
Buffett received some treatment for skin cancer in Boston. In lieu of flowers, the Buffett family is asking for donations Brigham and Women’s Hospital And Dana Farber Cancer Institute In Boston, as well MD Anderson Cancer Center in houston f Jimmy Buffett Singing for Change Foundation.
Buffett’s last live performance took place in New England
Two months ago, Buffett made a surprise appearance at a Rhode Island restaurant in what ended up being his last concert performance in front of a crowd.
Mac McAnally, a member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, was performing outdoors at Sunset Cove in Portsmouth on July 2. McAnally had a few songs in his repertoire, and he was playing Alan Jackson’s No. 1 country hit “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” a song that featured Buffett. A video from the show shows that as McNally begins to sing the lyric “In a moment like this, I can’t help but wonder, What would Jimmy Buffett do?” The crowd at Sunset Cove started cheering and They jumped out of their seats when they saw Buffett walking onto the stage.
After completing “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” with McNally, Buffett went on to play seven of his greatest hits, including “Changes in latitude, changes in positions.” “The pirate looks at forty” And of course, “Margaritaville.”
Zac Brown Band pays tribute to Buffett at NH Gala
Grammy-winning band Zac Brown paid tribute to Buffett while performing in New Hampshire this past weekend.
During their first two shows at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Guilford on Saturday, the band played Her own rendition of “Margaritaville” In honor of Buffett.
Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffett performed together for the first time in 2010 An episode of CMT Crossroads and later collaborated on the 2011 No. 1 country song “Knee Deep”.
“I hope your knee is in the water somewhere in heaven today, Jimmy Buffett,” reads one of the posts Zac Brown Band’s Instagram page. “It was an honor to know you and make music with you. It’s over.”
. “Professional creator. Lifelong thinker. Reader. Beer buff. Troublemaker. Evil problem solver.”