Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who died September 1, had Merkel cell carcinoma, a skin cancer that’s diagnosed in fewer than 3,000 people in the US every year.
Skin cancer is the most widespread form of the disease in the United States, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, but Buffett’s death may be the first time people have heard of Merkel cell carcinoma. The condition was named for German scientist Friedrich Merkel, who first described that type of cell in 1875. Merkel cells are thought to be a kind of neuroendocrine cell found at the base of the surface of the skin, the epidermis.
Because so few people have had this form of cancer, research is limited, and it is difficult to know exactly how to fight it. The American Cancer Society recommends that people who have Merkel cell carcinoma at any stage try to enroll in a clinical trial so they will have access to the latest treatments. If the cancer is in an early stage, doctors will probably do a biopsy of the suspicious spot and then surgically remove the spot and some of the tissues around it.
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