100 Questions & Answers About Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers

Concise, easy-to-read paperback book

The question and answer format mimics an actual physician consultation

Provides both the patient's and physician's perspective on melanoma and other skin cancers

Written by an expert author team with extensive experience

Provides practical answers to questions about treatment options, post-treatment quality of life, sources of support, and much more

Introduction

Part 1: The Basics
Questions 1-6 give basic background information about the skin, including:

• What is skin?
• What is cancer?
• What are the different kinds of skin cancer?

Part 2: Risk Factors
Questions 7-16 describe the different risk factors for skin cancer, including personal and environmental factors:

• Who is at risk for developing skin cancer?
• What environmental factors are important?
• What is ultraviolet radiation? What is meant by UVA, UVB, and UVC?

Part 3: Prevention and Protection
Questions 17-31 discuss ways to prevent skin cancer, including:

• What can I do to protect myself from UV damage?
• What is a sunscreen? What is the difference between a sunscreen and a sunblock?
• Do I need to use sunscreen on cloudy days?

Part 4: Detecting and Diagnosing Skin Cancer
Questions 32-38 describe the warning signs of skin cancer and what steps you might take if you think you see them, such as:

• How is skin cancer diagnosed?
• What should I look for to determine whether a mole could be melanoma?
• How is a biopsy done?

Part 5: What Does It Mean to Have Melanoma?
Questions 39-44 discuss some of the general facts you need to know regarding a diagnosis of melanoma:

• Are there different kinds of melanoma?
• Why is malignant melanoma so dangerous?
• How do I cope with knowing I have this disease?

Part 6. Treatment of Malignant Melanoma
Questions 45-64 describe soem of the methods fro treating malignant melanoma, including:

• What are the prognostic factors I need to know about?
• I have been told that I need a sentinel lymph node biopsy. What is this for?
• What questions should I ask my oncologist?
• What are the symptoms of metastatic melanoma?
• What are the common side effects of treatment?

Part 7. Clinical Trials
Questions 65-71 outline the advantages and disadvantages of participating in clinical trials, including:

• How do I find out about clinical trials?
• Does treatment in a clinical trial cost me money?
• Who is eligible for treatment in a clinical trial?

Part 8. Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers
Questions 72-100 discuss skin cancers and conditions other than melanoma, including:

• What is an actinic keratosis?
• What is basal cell carcinoma? What does it look like?
• Do basal cell carcinomas metastasize?
• What is a squamous cell carcinoma?
• What is a Merkel cell cancer?
• What is Kaposi’s sarcoma?
• What is a lymphoma?
• Do cancers originating elsewhere ever show up in the skin?
• Where do I go for more information about skin cancer?

Appendix
A list of web sites, organizations, and literature to help melanoma patients and their families find additional resources on general and specific topics related to melanoma and other skin cancers.

Glossary

Index

• "100 Questions & Answers About Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers describes my life after I got melanoma. Surgeries, skin grafts, interferon therapy - I've gone through all of it in the years since I was diagnosed. I feel like a preacher sometimes, telling people to protect themselves and their children, but it's important to let people know the risks of sun exposure. My neighbors and family have all changed their habits, wearing hats and using sunscreen, since they learned from me what melanoma is like. 100 Questions & Answers spreads the word even further. You don't think about things like melanoma when you're young, and most people don't know all the information they need about skin cancer - so everyone needs the information in this book."

  -Sheri L. Ekhaml
  Melanoma Survivor

  "In 100 Questions & Answers About Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers, the McClays have provided everything you always wanted to know about skin cancer, with special emphasis on melanoma. This book is a comprehensive and easy-to-read treatment guide, explaining the hows and whys of cancer development and treatment. The melanoma survivor's perspective adds a whole new dimension to the book, which will be beneficial to patients, their families, and their caregivers as well. Highly recommended."

  - Russell E. Burgess, MD
  Co-Director of the Leo Jenkins Cancer Center, Greenville, NC
  

   

  "I just wanted to tell you how great this book is and thank the McClays and Jodie for the information in this book. I wish we would of had more information in March of 2004 when my husband was diagnosed. It is so informative and I would recommend it to all who need this information. There really is not a lot of information out there, and I just wanted to say how great you all did on this. We have experienced so much of it and still continue daily. THANK YOU for us and many others."           

  - The Garatti Family