CRESTVIEW — Tami Black's recent hair coloring appointment became a lifesaver when her hairdresser found a suspicious spot on her scalp.
April Linton, a cosmetologist at the Hello Beautiful salon, found a blemish about the size of a pencil eraser on the Baker School teacher's head last month.
After Linton showed Black a cell phone photo of it, the 33-year teaching veteran made an appointment with her dermatologist, Dr. Charles Trapp, who removed the cancerous spot and surrounding skin.
Checking customers’ heads for irregularities should be standard professional practice at any salon, Linton said.
“I always look,” Linton said. “I’ve found things before because you can’t see the back of your neck or behind your ears or on top of your head.
“They’re not just our clients, they’ve become our friends. Notifying them is just the right thing to do if you find something.”
EARLY DETECTION
Black, who has a family and personal history of skin cancer, said the cancer didn’t have time to get worse.
“They got it very early so I didn’t have to go through chemo. There was no invasion of my lymph nodes,” she said. “But I had 10 stitches on my head because (Dr. Trapp) cut out a quarter-size spot.”
Black, in turn, paid Linton’s deed forward by including discussion of cancer in her high school science classroom.
“I teach anatomy and we go over all that,” she said. “Some kids are cautious, but I have seniors and, come prom time, they’re tanning-bedding like crazy.”
Black, who brought Linton a floral bouquet in appreciation for her attentiveness, said the cosmetologist probably saved her life.
“I had some people praying for me,” Black said. “They said God knew it (the cancer) was there and he used April to find it.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: LIFE-SAVING HAIR APPOINTMENT: Cosmetologist discovers cancerous spot on woman's head