If caught in time, curing skin cancer is simple. If not caught soon enough, skin cancer is usually fatal. At the same time, skin cancer's prevalence is rapidly increasing. Within our lifetimes, it may well be the major source of deaths from cancer . . . unless we all become more vigilant.

This book will take you to the level of understanding of skin cancer that dermatologists have, but in a way that a nonscientific person can understand. You will benefit from many diagrams and color plates that will help you decide if a mole or abnormality on the skin needs a biopsy to test for cancer. You can use this information to check yourself, your loved ones, and people you see more casually. You may well save a life in the process! This is like learning CPR.

Most skin cancer is thought to be caused by occasional overexposure to the sun before age 19. So even if you have been careful since 19, you may still get it. Those who have skin cancer once also have an increased likelihood of a recurrence.

There are many misunderstandings about what is needed to be done now, including the thought that using sun block will solve the problem of future risk. That's not true. Most sun blocks only stop the UV B rays. UV A rays (which are found in tanning salons) are also considered a probable cause of DNA mutations in the skin that cause skin cancer. In addition, the damage you experienced with a bad sunburn when you were 16 cannot be undone by care now. 80 percent of lifetime exposure to the sun occurs before age 19 for most people. Some people have a genetic predisposition, and that is explained as well.

You will find out a lot about treatments, and the prognosis for recovery, as well as the latest research.

I picked up this book because weird growths started appearing on my skin around age 50. I became a frequent visitor to my dermatologist, who happily burned off most of these. But I felt a lot of anxiety until the biopsies told me they were benign. I think this information will help me feel more comfortable with my growths, and better inform me about when I need to go see my outstanding dermatologist, Dr. Peter Bendetson.

One of the things you will learn is that the flat moles near the surface are the ones most likely to turn into cancer. So when they start changing in asymmetric, and colorful ways, get thee to the dermatologist. I emphasize that because the book is filled with stories about general practitioners pooh-poohing the significance of skin abnormalities that turned out to be cancer. You cannot tell what a discoloration or growth is for sure without a biopsy. A busy general practitioner may often be unlikely to want to take one and treat you until after you have been shown to have skin cancer. By the way, the problem with skin cancer is that it spreads throughout the body when too deeply established. Once it is past the skin, it becomes hard to stop. Take precautions, watch out, and get early treatment!

After you read and apply this outstanding book, I suggest that you think about what other areas of your mental and physical health you need to be monitor and attend to more consistently. Do you eat a healthy diet? Do you drink enough water? Do you get enough exercise? Do you feel good around other people? Do you have loving relationships in your life? Do you have an annual physical examination?

Have the quality of life you deserve!

A comprehensive and up-to-date resource that covers what to expect from initial diagnosis to long term care. Also recommended by the Melanoma Clinic at University of Michigan Hospital.

Dr. Jill Schofield and Dr. William Robinson's What You Really Need To Know About Moles And Melanoma points out that sunscreen isn't enough prevention: the latest facts about moles and cancers from prevention through treatment is detailed in a guide which discusses risks, therapies, and what to watch for. Color photos provide clear guidelines on cancerous versus noncancerous possibilities.

I DID like the idea. How terrifying to lose your memory and how amazing to go through the process of getting it back! But it was very bizarre, and rather irritating, that what Ms. Robinson remembered best were the bygone days in Hollywood of her famous family and friends. The intriguing topics of not remembering what her relationships with her kids were like, forgetting that family members had passed away, etc. were just barely touched upon. I don't like to read Hollywood tales, and those are what seem most important in this memoir. I waffled over 2 stars or 3 stars for my rating... I decided on 3 only because I liked and admired her loyal husband so much.

I was hooked on this book from the opening sentence. As a writer, the thought of losing my memory is terrifying; this chronicle of regaining one's most personal and valuable possession moved me beyond the realm of mere words. And that one apparently simple line -- "I couldn't taste the name" (of a soup) -- fills me with the worst kind of professional envy.

Sure, there's some "self-indulgent stuff" in the book; but who can blame a writer for flexing her skills or a person who has come back from such a staggering blow for indulging herself? On the whole, however, this is a remarkably restrained piece of work. Jill Robinson deserves nothing but praise for "Past Forgetting."

Jill Robinson is blessed with an elegant, original prose style, and a life story that gives it wing in Past Forgetting. This is an amazingly original autobiography which takes the reader into the heart and brain of its subject as she struggles to recover memory, and in the process reclaims a fascinating life which began in Hollywood as daughter of MGM head Dore Schary, where she deveoped her writer's eye for the telling detail. What for others would have been a catastrophic event: the siezure which caused a brain storm and severe memory loss, is in her hands a deeply intelligent and entertaining tale of life and memory recaptured. It is also a rare love story of a husband's devotion, and of a woman's courage.