Your Hairdresser Can Help Catch Cancer

Your Hairdresser Can Help Catch Cancer



Make a list of your most intimate relationships and, in all
probability, your hairdresser or barber should be on it. You’ve probably
swapped many stories during washings and trimmings, and maybe you’ve
even traded advice about life and love. (And, really, how many other
people run their fingers through your hair?!)





Now, according to the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, there’s even more that your hairdresser can and should do -- alert you about possible skin cancer.



Since the only thing that my hairdresser has ever alerted me about
has been which shampoo would add the most volume to my hair, I called
Alan Geller, MPH, RN, senior lecturer in the school’s department of
society, human development and health, because he recently led a study
on the topic.



A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW




Who else sees -- really sees -- your scalp and the back of your neck?
Understanding that unique view, Geller and his colleagues wondered if
hair professionals use, or could use, that perspective to help look for
skin cancers. If so, it could save lives, because while melanomas of the
scalp and neck represent only about 6% of all melanomas in the US, they
account for about 10% of all melanoma deaths. Geller told me that one
reason scalp and neck cancers are such high-risk cancers is that we
can’t easily see those areas of the body, so cancers there tend to elude
early detection -- and the later a cancer is detected, the greater the
risk for death.

HOW IN-THE-KNOW ARE HAIRDRESSERS?




The researchers analyzed surveys completed by 203 male and female
hairdressers and barbers from 17 salons in the Houston area. There were
43 questions total, including questions about knowledge of the ABCD rule
of detecting cancerous lesions (asymmetry-border-color-diameter),
personal practices in caring for their own skin (such as wearing
sunscreen and hats) and health communication practices.

What researchers discovered: Although fewer than one-third
of these professionals had had any formal training in skin cancer
detection, many of them seemed to understand the essential elements --
90% agreed that a customer should see a doctor for a mole that’s
changing in size or that bleeds... 89% for a mole that’s changing
color... and 78% for a mole that itches. More than one-third (37%) said
that they had actually inspected the scalps of more than half of their
customers in the past month, and 29% said that they had examined the
necks of more than half of their customers in the past month.
Researchers were also happily surprised to find that 58% of the
hairdressers had already recommended that a customer see a doctor about
an abnormal mole that they had found. In addition, Geller was encouraged
by the fact that most respondents recognized the importance of their
role -- half said that they would like to receive formal skin cancer
education, and 69% said that they would give customers a skin cancer
pamphlet if they had one.
WHY TALKING TO YOUR HAIRDRESSER IS KEY



Most people see their physician about twice a year, and only 15% of
people see a dermatologist annually. But most people see hairdressers or
barbers much more often, so their observations could be extremely
valuable, said Geller. Right now, there are no cosmetology rules or
incentives that encourage hair professionals across the US to perform
skin cancer screenings on customers, but Geller envisions a future where
hair professionals are on the front line of skin cancer sightings,
alerting customers about suspicious skin lesions and recommending that
they see their doctors.

The Harvard group isn’t stopping there. Geller’s colleague,
researcher Elizabeth Bailey, MD, is working with the Melanoma Foundation
of New England on a 20-minute pilot program to educate hair
professionals about checking customers for scalp and neck skin cancers. I
asked the foundation’s executive director, Deb Girard, whether Daily Health News could see the brochure that she and Dr. Bailey have developed. She was delighted to share it -- you can see it at http://www.mfne.org/prevent-melanoma/the-skinny-on-skin. You’re welcome to download it for free and share it with your own hair professional.

Next on the agenda: Massage therapists, whose work gives
them the chance to look closely at other parts of their customers’ skin.
Geller reminded me that skin cancer is the only visible cancer and
repeated a saying that he loves, "Melanoma writes its message on the
skin for all of us to see." He wants more people to be able to read that
message.
Source(s): Alan
C. Geller, MPH, RN, senior lecturer, department of society, human
development, and health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.

Deb Girard, executive director, Melanoma Foundation of New England,
Concord, Massachusetts.