I got a message from my mother this morning with a link to this video. Just five minutes and three seconds, it was a short investment to make me think about this issue from a completely different perspective.

Malignant Melanoma is far more deadly– and far more common– than I thought. This short video was created by a company called evidently for the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund and contains people, all of whom who have either suffered from skin cancer or lost someone to it, sending a message to their former selves. They don’t intend to reach them, of course. They hope to reach you. And me. And everyone that any of us care about.

Spend five minutes watching, maybe read up a little to know more about melanoma, and then, for God’s sake, get to know your own skin.

Thanks, Mom.

Related articles

• Know the Risk Factors for Malignant Melanoma (everydayhealth.com)
• Get to Know Your Skin (servantofchaos.com)
• Robert Tornambe, M.D.: Malignant Melanoma: The Silent Killer (huffingtonpost.com)