[iris_6784]

I'm really freaking out I'm only 15 years old and that is way too young to die from cancer! But I have this discoloration on my stomach and these dark patches around the navel area that sort of look like this (I found this picture on Google so it's not me):
http://apothecary4skin.com/images/discoloration.jpg

Or sort of like this: the leg on the right and again obviously its not my picture:
http://www.eldergadget.com/picts/pro...me_370x278.jpg

And I had it for a long time for like a year I think I'm not sure I don't remember could be longer or shorter but around a year. So I'm really scared it could be cancerous??

Also I know you guys will say "how are we supposed to know go to the doctor!!!!! The sooner you get checked out the better!!"

I know that I really should go to the doctor but IM SCARED I don't want the words "YOU HAVE CANCER" to come out of his mouth and if it does I feel like I will faint.

I also don't want to lose my hair its really long its past my waist and people always compliment how pretty it is and I had it long for a really long time and I don't want to go to school looking like an idiot and bald and people will laugh at me.

I'm really scared this is serious and I want to know how can I calm down about this? And how can I go to the doctor without the fear I have cancer? Also my family history, one of my grandparents and great grandparents passed from cancer and I don't want that happen to me!! I'm really freaking out! I really need advice please how can I calm down from this??

[Wondergirl]

I'm a cancer survivor and am betting it ain't cancer. It might be something with circulation. Do you have other symptoms, such as fever or chills, persistent fatigue, frequent infections, weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, easy bleeding or bruising, nosebleeds, excessive sweating, bone pain? I'd certainly go to my doctor to get it checked out.

The sooner you find out what it is, the sooner you can deal with it, if there's any dealing to do. It's probably something very simple.

[talaniman]

Being scared and freaking out solves nothing and ONLY a doctor can examine and test you for whatever your concerns are. You may be scared and freaking out for NOTHING but there is only one way to find out.

Find some courage to TELL YOUR MOM about your fears, and concerns. She can help calm you down.

[joypulv]

If you have light skin, hair, and eyes, you might just be like me - a lifetime of skin blotches, dark spots, light spots, pink spots, moles that draw away pigment in a circle around them, and skin tags, some as big as almonds. So please don't freak out if you have that complexion. I am 68 and have never had cancer. However, relatives had. So yes, you get your skin looked at, but not as an emergency.

You are a classic case of a teenager using the internet to diagnose herself in the most alarming way she can.

I have seen medications create skin discoloration.

Pregnancy can, and if pregnancy can, than female hormones in a teenager can.

Those are just TWO suggestions. Suggestions only!

[Fr_Chuck]

You are by far over reacting and making what is most likely a skin issue, into a drama.

Guess what even if it is cancer, most cancer when caught early enough is cured. You don't die. Unless you don't go to the doctor and wait too long.

All illness is easy treated the sooner you go the doctor.

Get off your lazy butt, and see a doctor. The mental fear you cause is most likely doing more harm that a skin issue. There are many other reasons, cancer is about the last possible thing.

[Alty]

Also I know you guys will say "how are we supposed to know go to the doctor!!!!! The sooner you get checked out the better!!"

I know that I really should go to the doctor but IM SCARED I don't want the words "YOU HAVE CANCER" to come out of his mouth and if it does I feel like I will faint.

So you know that going to the doctor is the right thing, and the sooner the better IF it's cancer. But you're too scared?

Isn't it scarier to hear "You have two weeks left to live, you have cancer, too bad you didn't get checked out sooner, we could have saved you"?

Not hearing bad news, doesn't mean it's all good. Refusing to go to the doctor when you're worried about something that could be serious, is like hiding under the blankets when a serial killer enters your room with an axe. It won't change the outcome.

I also don't want to lose my hair its really long its past my waist and people always compliment how pretty it is and I had it long for a really long time and I don't want to go to school looking like an idiot and bald and people will laugh at me.

You're worried about your hair? Hair grows back. Anyone that has any compassion would never laugh at someone that's bald, especially someone that's bald because of chemo or radiation therapy!

You're not going to the doctor to get this checked because of your hair?

Your hair continues to grow once you're dead and buried. Good news! You'll be in a casket, but no one will laugh at your hair, it will be long and lush. No worries there.

Is this cancer? Who knows? We don't! No one online does! Only a doctor can diagnose, and your reasons for not seeing one are plain stupid. Would you rather find out and get help if needed, or die because of your petty reasons for not seeing a doctor?

Banging my head against a wall. See your doctor! Geesh!

[J_9]

I also don't want to lose my hair its really long its past my waist and people always compliment how pretty it is and I had it long for a really long time and I don't want to go to school looking like an idiot and bald and people will laugh at me.

You know, you really should choose your words more wisely. When I had cancer the last thing I worried about was something as superficial as losing my hair. I was more worried about losing my LIFE!

When my daughter's friend had cancer in high school no one cared whether she had hair. They cared that she was still ALIVE!

There is no way on God's green earth we can tell you whether you have cancer strictly from the photos. Pictures that aren't even pictures of YOU. You will have to see a doctor. Have biopsies and blood work done.

Again, choose your words wisely, you don't know how many cancer survivors you have offended by saying we looked like "idiots" when we lost our hair.

[ScottGem]

One last point to make. If your symptoms are skin discolorations, then even if you do have cancer, it is likely to be very treatable. Assuming you get it looked at. The death rate for cancer has been getting lower and lower. Cancer is not the death sentence it once was.