A hero hairdresser saved a customer’s life after finding a lump on his head which was diagnosed as cancer days later.
Erinna Lindfield, 42, urged Adam Statford to get the mole checked out by doctors after discovering it under his left sideburn
Driving instructor Adam Shatford, 54, popped in for a quick trim when one of his students failed to turn up for a lesson.
Lindfield, was brushing his hair when she noticed a hard mole-sized lump under his sideburns by his left ear.
She mentioned it to Adam and suggested he get it checked out , which he did, two hours later on 3 October last year.
He had an operation on 23 October to remove the cancer and had further surgery last month to remove lymph nodes.
Last week he was given the all clear and has returned to the hairdressers to thank Erinna for saving his life.
The father-of-three, of Northampton, said, “Erinna had never cut my hair before, another stylist did it.
“While she was brushing my hair, she said, “Has anyone ever checked that mole out? It costs nothing.”
Adam said, “I left here and I phoned the doctor and within two hours a doctor had asked me to come in. If Erinna had never said ‘you need to get it checked,’ I would never have phoned.”
He added, “It was definitely from the sun – it affects people’s pigments differently. I have been told the reason it’s so dangerous is because you are not ill until it’s progressed.”
Paying his gratitude to Erinna, he stated, “I’m very lucky. I could have easily nodded my head at Erinna but I thought I will phone and both surgeons and doctors paid tribute to Erinna.”
Speaking about the diagnosis, Adam said, “I felt 100% fine until they operated. I usually ran four to five miles a day. I’m very grateful to her, and the NHS. If she had not said that, I would have got worse until I was very bad.”
Erinna, who works at Jazz Hairdressing, in Northampton, said, ‘I hadn’t done Adam’s hair before, but I started cutting his hair. I saw the mole and felt like I had to say something. I knew that it wasn’t right.”
She added, “It was very misshapen, dark and bumpy. It was about the size of a 5 pence coin, right in the side burn. He said to me ‘do you think I should get it checked?’ I said ‘I really do.’”
Saying it was the right thing to do, Erinna stated, “I’m not a doctor; I just wanted him to get professional advice. He called the doctor straight away. When he came back to the hairdressers, he was very grateful. He bought me a bottle of Prosecco. He said it was one of the best haircuts he had ever had. I’m just glad he came in on that day and he got it checked out.”
Source: Metro.co.uk
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