Customer Reviews

The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Intraocular Melanoma: A Revised and Updated Directory for the Internet Age

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Medical resources for the patient need to meet three criteria. They must be affordable, accessible and accurate. This so-called "official patient sourcebook" on intraocular melanoma fails all three criteria and deserves a zero rating.

Affordability: This soft-cover, less than 200-page, widely-spaced manual is overpriced. At a minimum, it should have come with a CD-ROM.

Accessibility: Means easy access. Most of the URLs exceed 100 characters. There are no eye graphics, comparison charts or images of the different types of eye cancer. Many of the references the authors cite, such as Ophthalmology and Archives of Ophthalmology are subscription-only access. The authors have largely cribbed the language of the ocular specialists without translating it into a patient's vocabulary or perspective.

Accuracy: This manual is a shockingly ignorant and inaccurate work. Their most alarming mistake is to constantly compare eye melanoma to skin melanoma. According to ocular oncology pathologist Daniel Albert, "There is a common misconception that ocular melanoma and skin melanoma are essentially the same disease. This is not the case. The two differ in their systemic symptoms, metastatic patterns, and susceptibility to treatment."

Bottom line: this is an amateur and dangerously misleading work. Intraocular melanoma, particularly the common choroidal version, is a cancer that threatens both a patient's sight and life. Skip this book and simply type "choroidal melanoma, eye cancer, eye melanoma, uveal melanoma, intraocular melanoma or ocular melanoma" into any one of the various search engines. Or check out the patient-advocacy organization of seeacure.com for affordable, accessible and accurate information.