The late singer of "Margaritaville," Jimmy Buffett, passed away at 76 following a challenging battle against a rare type of cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma.
Doctors at the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Baton Rouge emphasize that, while this cancer is infrequent, it possesses an aggressive nature and a higher fatality rate compared to other skin cancers.
Medical experts underscore the heightened risk for individuals aged 50 or older who spend extended periods outdoors without protection or those with compromised immune systems.
Merkel carcinoma proves exceptionally challenging to identify and can easily be mistaken for common skin issues like bug bites, pimples, or moles.
Doctors strongly advocate early screening for anyone observing unusual skin abnormalities. As Dr. Cody Milliman notes, "In general, people who have a lot of freckles, a lot of moles, things like that, given the general population, should be getting screened once a year to look at their moles and different things like that, and make sure they look benign and not look like cancer."
