A Guide Through Skin Cancer Stages
WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MOLES AND MELANOMA
By Dr. Jill R. Schofield and Dr. William A. Robinson
Johns Hopkins
University Press
213 pages; $14.95 paperback
All you current and former sun worshipers, listen up: Melanoma is triggered by sun exposure.
This deadly cancer can sneak up on you in the prime of your life, even years after you’ve covered up. If you ignore the risk, you could die. You need to be informed--especially if you live in Southern California, where the sun shines nearly every day of the year--and take steps to protect yourself. This is just the book to help you.
Melanoma is a cancer of the cells that produces melanin, the pigment that gives your skin, hair and eyes their color. Although most melanomas occur in the skin, they can be found in any part of the body where melanocytes are found, including the eyes. The incidence of malignant melanoma is growing faster than any other cancer. But the good news is that abnormal skin growths can be caught before they reach the malignant stage. That requires vigilance: You must monitor moles and the rest of your skin for signs of change, because once cells turn malignant, they can spread without warning to other organs of the body.
The book takes a textbook-like approach to explaining the structure of skin, with useful diagrams and boldfaced terms. You can learn about the variety of skin growths we’re born with or acquire with age, and find out why skin cancers are on the rise. If you are a melanoma patient, this book will guide you through decisions about diagnosis and treatment. If your cancer defies treatment, there’s information on pain control at the end of life.
Notice that the color photos that illustrate cancerous growths are credited to an Australian anti-cancer council. Let that be a lesson: Australians have been grappling with high rates of skin cancer longer than we have, and with vigorous public health campaigns, they have become among the most vigilant protectors of their skin. You might want to keep one of the country’s public health campaign slogans in mind: “Slip, Slop, Slap.” Slip on a shirt. Slop on some sunscreen. Slap on a hat. It could save your life.
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THE WALKER WITHIN: Forty-Five Lives Changed by Walking
The Editors of
Walking Magazine
Lyons Press
213 pages; $22.95
What a wonderful range of experiences and sensations these 45 stories express. Each is a two- to six-page gem about what it means to put one foot in front of the other and move: in the woods, along a city street, up a mountain, inside an airplane. It’s the kind of book you might turn to for diversion, inspiration, a laugh, a different take on daily life.
This book presents walking as more than just the easiest exercise--one that requires no equipment other than two feet and a basic sense of balance. It’s a thinking person’s pursuit. The writers aren’t professionals; they’re Walking magazine readers who felt moved to recount the discoveries and pleasures--both solitary and shared--that arise as they walk the dog, stroll to clear their heads, get out of a jail cell to preserve their sanity or just wander in search of new adventure.
There’s the woman who recounts her trepidation at taking a blind boyfriend on a Pennsylvania hike, only to have him teach her “what a bouquet for the senses walking really is.”
Another walker, sidelined by a fracture and surgery, is forced to learn patience and trust. She writes: “I await the mend and bless the regenerative powers of bones, never again to take for granted my precious ability to walk and then walk again.”
The Imeldas among us will appreciate the woman who confesses: “Some people walk for their health. Some people walk to control weight. Some people walk for peace of mind. I have another reason: I walk to live up to my shoes.”
Go to any page and you’ll find delights.
