Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ973rkpYqU/When your hairdresser carefully looks at your scalp while styling your locks, there is a good chance that a funky looking mole or growth they notice could turn out to be a skin cancer.  So conclude researchers from from the UK’s University of Portsmouth in a study published in the journal Skin Health and Disease.They surveyed 37 hair stylists and barbers in the city of Portsmouth, England.  Only 5% of the group had any formal training and only one in four were actively looking at clients’ skin for the purpose of detecting lesions.  Even so, 35% had told clients to check in with their medical teams for inspection of suspicious lesions.  When they did, 39% of these clients were diagnosed with skin cancer.The hair professionals overwhelming embraced the idea of screening for skin lesions, and 92% of them wanted skin cancer awareness training.   Nearly two-thirds of the group stated that the lack of formal training was the reason they weren’t probing their clients