Hairdressers Could Receive Skin Cancer Training

Hairdressers can and should be trained to check their clients for skin cancer, say health experts.

There is currently no general screening for skin cancer in the UK and despite estimates that almost 100,000 new cases of are detected each year, many cases can go undetected for years.

Lesions on the scalp and the back of the neck can easily go unnoticed, and experts say hairdressers are the ideal people to spot these.

Writing in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, US doctors say: "We should not wait for our patients with skin cancer to come to us when it may be too late, but use research and outreach methods to improve early detection of head and neck melanomas by capitalising on the role of hairdressers and their unique relationship with our potential clients."

Hairdressers would not of course be expected to make a diagnosis, but to let a client know of any lumps, bumps or sores they happen to find so that the client could then speak to their doctor.

Anecdotal research suggests such training is achievable, and work carried out by Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust found of those hairdressers polled most were keen to do take on the extra responsibility.

In 2010, the Melanoma Taskforce, a panel of UK skin cancer experts chaired by Sian James MP, produced a set of guidelines for hairdressers and beauty therapists to help them identify malignant melanoma and two other common, less aggressive forms of skin cancer - basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

The British Association of Dermatologists, a charity that is part of the taskforce, said: "It would be dangerous to suggest that such a small amount of 'training' qualifies health and beauty professionals to diagnose skin cancer.

"However, they can help in spotting changes to the skin in places that their clients can't usually see."

(H)