SUU students pilot Eyes on Cancer skin cancer project

Source: The Independent, December 2019

With Utah suffering the highest melanoma rate in the United States, Southern Utah University students are now helping rally a first line of defense: hairdressers who regularly look at people’s scalps, where the deadliest melanomas often form.

SUU students spent months working on a new research project to discover what type of training hairdressers in southern Utah receive in recognizing skin lesions. SUU donor Stephen W. Gibson had the idea to start this project after his hairdresser found a lesion on his scalp.

“This project started after my hairdresser informed me about a suspicious-looking lesion on my own head,” said Gibson. “I went to the dermatologist, and he found that my lesion was indeed melanoma, which he surgically removed. Without my hairdresser’s tip, I wouldn’t have discovered my cancer until later, by which time it could’ve metastasized and become deadly. If we can help save even one additional life by encouraging hairdressers, it’s worth the effort.”

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