Saving Our Skin: A Surgeon's Story of Tenacity, Adventure and Giving Back

Perry Robins, MD, saved our skin—literally.

The world-renowned surgeon took on an enemy of unimaginable power: the sun. At a time when most people worshipped a sunkissed glow, the medical techniques and messages Dr. Robins promoted had the power to affect every human being on the planet.

Born in Newark during the Great Depression, Perry Robins never had it easy, but he always made the best of it. Struggling in school with dyslexia and grueling part-time jobs, being drafted by the Army and sent overseas—none of the obstacles life threw his way could slow him down.

After his medical training from Germany to NYU, Dr. Robins studied a type of skin cancer surgery invented by Frederic Mohs, MD, at the University of Wisconsin. He brought the technique back to NYU and established the first fellowship program in Mohs surgery. Despite resistance, Dr. Robins upended conventional wisdom in the medical community by showing dermatologists that they could be skin cancer surgeons.

Today, about 40 percent of all doctors who specialize in Mohs surgery were either trained by Dr. Robins or by the doctors he trained. The Skin Cancer Foundation he founded and helped raise millions for continues to spread his message, educating the public on skin cancer and the dangers of sun exposure.