It's back and this time it's skin cancer in a 15 year old.

[Jeninthesky]

So I'm 15 and I've absolutely convinced myself that I have skin cancer on my scalp. I use this acne cream that makes your skin more sensitive to the sun and I'm really scared and worried that it's caused skin cancer to develop.

The spot is this tiny little bald area in my scalp that looks shiny and like a scar almost. It's pinkish white and there are no hair follicles in the bald area. It crusted over a couple days ago and I started googling... I know that it's very rare for skin cancer to happen to a fifteen year old but I feel like statistics don't work for HA sufferers... there's always that uncertainty.

What do you guys think? Something to worry about, or not.

I'm seeing the derm in late August but I feel like I need to see her sooner!

[joelhall]

Exactly how large is this 'spot' and have you had it investigated by your doctor?

[Jeninthesky]

The doctor hasn't seen it... it's a bit smaller than a pencil eraser.

[joelhall]

From the description, the only skin cancer this resembles is called squamous cell carcinoma, however these tend to grow rather large and rapidly. Squamous and basal cell carcinomas account for 95% of skin cancers, while the other 5% are the melanomas. Remember however, that these non-melanoma skin cancers have a survival rate of 99.7% - they're very easily cured!
However, it is more likely to be an infection, such as S. aureus. These often can cause aggressive lesions on the skin, and look far more alarming than they are. Again they're very easily cured in the majority of cases.

The only way to get answers is to have a check up with a doctor as soon as you can.