You don't have to put up with "age spots" - actually I hate that term as it sounds REALLY old-ladyish, and they are more from the sun than from age. It's just that they show up when one is older. But there are women who are only in their 30's who are starting to get them from earlier years of doing the tanning bed thing, as well as too much sun.
Anyhow, a several-pronged attack can really help:
First up, if you don't do anything else, start wearing a facial sunblock if you haven't been wearing one-it will prevent the ones you have from getting worse.
Then, either you can get into a specific skincare program that will improve the appearance of them over a period of time, and/or go to the dermatologist and get them zapped(quickest, but can be expensive). A dermatologist can also prescribe products that are stronger than OTC stuff, too.
The skincare possiblities include a skin-lightener(either OTC or prescription)applied to the spots - there are quite a few serums out there - along with an OTC Vitamin C serum underneath your daily sunblock, and some form of prescription retinoid cream(either Retin-A or Renova for drier skins). A great way to jump start a comprehensive program is to either have a series of professional microdermabrasion or glycolic or enzyme peel treatments, as they will quite soon make the skin look much brighter and more even-toned. There are also home microdermabrasion and peel treatments available - not as strong as pro ones, but when used over a period of time, they can really make a big difference.
There's another program out there, Obagi(which is supervised by a dermatologist or a medical esthetician), which is pretty aggressive and not for the faint-hearted, as it makes you look noticeably worse before you look better. But people have made amazing improvements with it.
As far as that dermatologist who said "I hate to tell you..." IMO he had a really rotten way of communicating about a very common pigmentation problem, which is what it is! He could have said, "What you have here are sunspots, and here's what can be done to address them."
It used to be that there were no treatments for mature, sundamaged skin and one would just have to live with the damage, and just "age gracefully"-ugh! But, very good skincare and treatments are available to more people than just the extremely wealthy. There's alot more good stuff showing up at the drugstore level, as well as comprehensive skincare websites selling approaching professional-level products. Home microdermabrasion/peel kits can be had for between $25 and $40, which is alot cheaper than a derm trip!
Another thing is that our attitude is different from our mothers on this score as we want results, not just a nice-smelling cream in a pretty jar that basically does nothing but sit on one's skin.
For myself, I have to be careful with stepping up my skin treatments, as my skin tends to be sensitive - just one new product at a time, and watch my skin like a hawk! But whenever I'm tempted to get really tan(as I can do so very easily)I take a look at women who are older than me where it's obvious they've never taken care of their skin. Here in the Southwest, I've seen some really scary examples of sundamaged skin, even on relatively young women, who don't do anything to protect and treat their skin.
At the end of the day however, the saying "your mileage may vary" really applies here, as some cases of sunspots can be very stubborn(it depends on how extensive and darkly-pigmented they are to start with). Be patient(unless you go the "zapping" route)- a targeted skincare program can take several months to make serious inroads on this. Needless to say, a few lighter ones are easier to improve than extensive, really dark ones.