Rare Skin Disease

When I was in high school a somewhat circular mark appeared on my cheek. It was a little bit raised and about the size of a quarter. As I recall it was a bit lighter in color than my skin. I ended up being sent to a specialist at the University of Utah hospital. He was very excited. He had to take a biopsy to be sure, but he said I had alopecia mucinosa, which was very rare, and he had only ever seen a picture of it in a textbook.

Eventually, photos were taken and students were brought in to see this rare thing in person. There was no known cure. We tried several different creams with no success. Then the doctor said there was a new thing that was just experimental and asked if I'd be willing to try using it. It was tape with some sort of medication. I was later told it was some sort of steroid. I would put it on a night and pull it off in the morning. This eventually cured it.

Years later a a dermatologist told me this was a form of lymphoma, but I'm sure I would have known if I had lymphoma. I read somewhere that it could lead to lymphoma, so maybe that's what he meant.