After a routine haircut led to a cancer diagnosis, a Chickerell resident is now encouraging people to take care of their skin and get any changes checked out.

Claire Bascombe, 59, made a doctor's appointment after her hairdresser noticed something on her scalp that didn't feel right. Prior to that day, she hadn't experienced any symptoms apart from a touch of dry skin.

"I had an itchy scalp, but I just thought it was eczema," Claire says. "As soon as I went to my GP, he knew what it was. I literally pulled my hair apart and he said, basal cell carcinoma. Then he immediately told me not to worry."

Basal cell carcinoma, or BCC, is a non-melanoma skin cancer and makes up more than 80% of all skin cancers in the UK. Although BCCs can be cured in almost every case and are rarely a danger to life, treatment can be more complicated if the problem has been neglected for a long time.

A few months after the diagnosis, Claire underwent an hour-long procedure at Dorset County Hospital to have the carcinoma removed.

"The department were absolutely superb," Claire says. "I couldn't fault them. I was only under local anaesthetic, so was sitting up and chatting throughout the operation. They removed a lump the size of a 50 pence piece, but I had no discomfort afterwards, and only needed a few days off work."

Pathology reports confirmed Claire's carcinoma was completely benign, and she is now encouraging people to get any changes to their skin, however minor, looked over by a doctor.

"People can get a bit complacent, and think it won't happen to them," Claire says. "10 years ago, I never would have thought I'd get skin cancer."

Claire also had a BCC removed from her forehead round five years ago. The size of a pinhead, Claire thought the mark was just a spot that wouldn't heal: "It kept bleeding, but it never entered my mind that it could be something serious."

As a former nurse, Claire came across many patients who had found lumps or bumps on their body, but hadn't done anything about it. They ended up enduring longer, more complicated operations which weren't always successful.

"I understand why people don't go the doctor," the current teaching assistant says. "They're scared, and for a lot of people getting the diagnosis of BCC can be really scary. But chances are very high that whatever it is will be benign."

Claire has promised her hairdresser, John from John Edwards in Dorchester, that she'll be his customer for life, and has thanked him with a big hug and a Bakewell tart.

According to the British Skin Foundation, basal cell carcinomas can occur anywhere on the body, but are most common on areas that are exposed to the sun such as the face, head, neck and ears. They can vary greatly in their appearance, but often present as a scab that bleeds and does not heal completely, or a new lump on the skin. Others form a lump and have a pearl-like rim surrounding a central crater, which may have small red blood vessels present across the surface. Most BCCs are painless, although sometimes they can be itchy or bleed if caught.

For more information about the causes, symptoms and treatment of skin cancers, visit www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk

Treatment will be much easier if a basal cell carcinoma is detected early.

BCCs can vary in their appearance, but it is advisable to see your doctor if you have any marks or scabs on your skin which are:

  • growing
  • bleeding and never completely healing
  • changing appearance in any way

Check your skin for changes once a month. Staying safe in the sun will also help prevent BCCs from appearing.