Just Cuts Hornby Stylists save a life by spotting skin cancer

Owner and Head Stylist at Just Cuts Hornby, Michael Turner, has a new lifelong Client thanks to spotting an irregular scalp mark which turned out to be a stage 5 melanoma.

Last August, 38-year-old Craig Robertson visited the salon for a Style Cut when Senior Stylist Awatea Emery called Michael over to inspect the small lesion she'd noticed on Craig's scalp.

With over 4 decades of experience in the hairdressing industry and a passion for studying skin and hair abnormalities to help his Clients, Michael recommended Craig get the spot checked immediately.

The mark was identified as a Stage 5 melanoma, resulting in months of intensive treatment – including 5 sets of surgery, a thigh skin graft, and removing over 50 lymph nodes on Craig's neck.

Craig dropped into the salon last week to thank Michael and the team with Champagne. Craig wants his story to raise awareness of skin cancers and is now enjoying a Bali holiday with his wife, Hayley.

"To have someone tell me I've saved their life is definitely the pinnacle of my career. I'm not a doctor or nurse, but I'm certainly an immensely proud Stylist," said Michael.

"It's a tremendous validation of the over 12 months of education and training we put in with my team of 10 here to grow understanding of skin abnormalities. We don't just employ fully qualified Stylists here; we also have a team who understand the varied signs of skin cancer."

With all Just Cuts Stylists undergoing training in skin cancer detection, Michael emphasised the value of choosing fully qualified Stylists for early detection.

"The reality is Craig's over 6ft tall, so not even his wife can see on top of his head, which isn't unique. 80% of the population carry a growth on our scalp, and some of these become melanomas."

"You can't inspect your own scalp, especially with thicker hair, so many can go unnoticed."

"It's not just new Clients; we notice scalp changes on Clients we've been styling for years. I picked up another one weeping on someone's scalp over the weekend, and it's not uncommon for people to still be in denial about the severity of skin abnormalities. If there's any doubt, get checked."

Visit Just Cuts Hornby Christchurch, The Hub, Main South Rd, Hornby