The singer and billionaire mogul died Friday of a rare and aggressive skin cancer.
Topline
Vacation extraordinaire and topical rockstar Jimmy Buffett died Friday night from an aggressive form of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare disease that impacts only one in 130,000 Americans each year and is often caused by exposure to the sun.Key Facts
Buffett, 76, had been fighting Merkel cell cancer for four years before he died at his home in Long Island, his website says.
Fewer than 2,000 cases of the rare cancer are diagnosed in the United States per year, compared to 95,000 cases of melanoma, according to Baptist Health.
Merkel cells are found in the topmost layer of the skin near nerve endings, and cancer forms when those cells grow out of control, often forming lumps in the areas most exposed to the sun, the National Cancer Institute says.
The cancer spreads painlessly in the early stages and quickly, usually to lymph nodes first and then to other parts of the body, including the brain, lungs and bones.
Merkel cell carcinoma is much more likely to spread to other parts of the body than the most common types of skin cancers—basal cell and squamous cell—and grows much quicker.
Exposure to natural or artificial sunlight, including from tanning beds, are the top risk factors for Merkel cell carcinoma, in addition to a weakened immune system, history of cancer or “being older than 50 years, male or white,” the institute says.
