Customer Reviews

Melanoma Melodrama: A Medical Memoir

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Chuck Myer has given the reader his first-person insights into battling one of the most disastrous types of cancer, malignant melanoma. Although the subject is certainly not funny, Chuck has brought his wry sense of humor to bear on the subject, as well as his skills as a writer. From the first inkling of the disease through treatments (in hospital and self-administered by injection at home) and a roller coaster of worry, dismay, strength, hope, and relapse. Chuck's memoir will serve not only as his own legacy -- or rather one legacy of a varied and productive life -- but as inspiration to cancer patients and their friends and families. The book might also be of great value to medical professionals at all levels (whether physician, nurse, or aide) in gaining insight into the experiences of their patients.

Disclosure: At Chuck's request, in order to make this book available to as wide an audience as feasible in a timely manner, I published this edition. It has been a privilege to do so.

As Chuck's wife, I lived this journey of cancer treatments and loss with him. He put his whole heart, mind and soul into this book, his last completed work of art before he died. The last few chapters were written after brain surgery, and it took all he had to produce them. Now that I have been grieving and healing for almost a year, I have some new perspective as I read the book again; I have more appreciation for the honest, poignant and loving words he left behind for us all.

Chuck's story not only touches those who have been through the rigors of chemo and cancer, but all those who pick up this book. Written with warmth and compassion, Chuck takes us through his life and trials with melanoma and makes you laugh, cry, smile and makes you just want to hug the next person you see. Thank you Chuck for sharing your life with us.

As a collaborator on musicals with Chuck, I had not only a working but a personal relationship with Chuck. We spent many, many hours creating artistic projects together. It is clear to me that "Melonoma Melodrama" is more than a story of one man's struggle with cancer; it is an outpouring -- through a series of newspaper articles he wrote for publication in the Sacramento Bee -- of the joys and frustrations, the humor and the tragedy connected with medical professionals and pharmaceuticals. Chuck wrote a personal column quite regularly, and this book reflects his tongue-in-cheek perspective on his own health. To get a more well-rounded sense of Chuck's life and work, check out his columns with the San Jose Mercury News as well as with the United Methodist Church. To my knowledge, he wrote only one other book: a history of Placer County.