TAMPA -- Jimmy Buffett's family revealed the disease that likely led to the singer's death at age 76.
An obituary posted Sunday stated that Buffett had Merkel cell skin cancer that changed into lymphoma. Dr. Vernon Sondak is a cancer surgeon who heads the department of Cutaneous Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Sondak says Merkel cell typically doesn't change into lymphoma, but can spread from the skin to the lymph nodes.
Sondak says the cancer is typically found in older individuals with either a lot of sun exposure or a suppressed immune system. The weakened immune protection could come from diseases such as HIV, transplants, or lymphoma or leukemia. The cancer is caused in those cases by a virus that most people have but which their immune systems keep in check
While melanoma gives clues when moles become dangerous, Sondak says Merkel cell cancer is one of the most "sneaky" forms of skin cancer. It rarely shows itself to be an obvious cancer. Sondak says it typically shows up as a small but rapidly growing red or purplish lump "that looks for all the world like a cyst or boil." It's often lanced as one, Sondak says, and doctors are surprised when it doesn't go away. Sondak says an older person with a rapidly enlarging lump that's not a cyst or infection needs to get checked right away.
Buffett's family has asked for donations to several hospitals and cancer centers, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute or MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Listen to an interview with Dr. Sondak about Merkel cell skin cancer below.
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