Fans Rally Around Carly Simon After She Reveals Parkinson's And Skin Cancer Diagnosis

Music legend Carly Simon has received an outpouring of support from fans after revealing a distressing diagnosis.

Simon issued a statement July 27 explaining that she's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, just months after having undergone treatments for skin cancer.

She posted on Instagram about the "difficult, frustrating, and sometimes frightening" time she is going through, but also about how she is not allowing it to stop her: She has a new album dropping in August.

Simon, 83, wrote:

"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 a degenerative disease that attacks brain functions involved in movement and cognitive function. It often causes symptoms like tremors, falls and difficulty with mobility and motor functions. I can also have mental health impacts.

Simon revealed that in her case, the disease began with arthritis issues that weren't helped by joint replacements. Now, she says her life is to a large extent dictated by the condition.

She explained:

"There is no tidy or predictable schedule to the illness. It does not consult my calendar before deciding what kind of day I am going to have."

Simultaneously, she dealt with basal cell carcinoma on her face, requiring surgeries that have impacted her self-confidence.

She wrote:

"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."

But as harrowing as her recent journey has been, Simon went on to write of how she has not allowed it to keep her from her work. In fact, it seems to have ignited her creative fire.

She wrote:

"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..."

"...Music has always known when to arrive. It has rescued me more times [than] I can count."

The musical sparks that came during her harrowing life change culminated in a new album, Comes in Waves, which will release on August 14.

On Instagram, Simon's post elicited an outpouring of heartfelt support and appreciation.

@dakotathemagicmaltese/Instagram

@iamsergiopi/Instagram

@caryelwes/Instagram

@tominikdz/Instagram

@arianearboreneauthor/Instagram

@sherylcrow/Instagram

@singerjohnjones/Instagram

@kathyandtyler/Instagram

@michaeljfoxorg/Instagram

Simon closed her statement by saying:

"I am still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering and occasionally getting trapped in an overstuffed chair..."

"...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."

That strength is something we could all learn from.