NEW : ` ` There is always an answer , even if it 's ... you ca n't change anybody but yourself , '' she said . " Phillips was author of the Dear Abby column for Playboy . She used the pen name Abigail Van ##n . Before the digital era of journalism introduced such notions as `` crowd sourcing '' of the public and computerized metrics on readership , Phillips assembled her Q & A columns from queries mailed in from readers . In 2002 , she was diagnosed with Parkinson 's disease .
NEW : ` ` There is always an answer , even if it 's ... you ca n't change anybody but yourself , '' she said . " Phillips was author of the Dear Abby column for Playboy . She used the pen name Abigail Van ##n . In 2002 , she was diagnosed with Parkinson 's disease .