'Hairdresser saved my life with advice on hidden scalp mole that was cancer'

Wales Online

05-06-2025

'Hairdresser saved my life with advice on hidden scalp mole that was cancer'
Michaela Peacock, 35, first noticed the 10p-sized growth on her scalp when absent-mindedly rubbing her head while watching TV
Michaela Peacock, 35, claims her hairdresser 'saved her life'
(Image: Kennedy News and Media )
A pale mum claims her hairdresser 'saved her life' after discovering a hidden cancerous mole on her scalp - caused by 'burning' for a tan as a youngster. Michaela Peacock, 35, first noticed the 10p-sized growth on her scalp when absent-mindedly rubbing her head while watching TV. Unsure whether she'd always had it, she checked with her mum and then her hairdresser who said the mole was larger and darker than her last appointment, urging her to get it checked. After a trip to her GP and nearby hospital, the aesthetics clinic owner was diagnosed with stage 1a melanoma - something doctors believe was caused by sunburn while tanning as a youngster. The fair-skinned mum of two, who also works as a cancer nurse, says she now feels 'paranoid' about going out in daylight - making her 'feel she wants to become a vampire'. Now facing an anxious wait about whether her other moles are cancerous, Michaela is urging people to slap on the SPF to avoid the same thing happening to them.
Michaela Peacock's scalp after the mole was removed
(Image: Kennedy News and Media )
‌
Michaela, from Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, said: "I found a mole on my scalp, on the left side just above my ear. It was the size of a 10p piece, so quite big. I think that's why it was quite alarming because if you'd have had that anywhere else on your body you would have been like 'oh my God' but you're not looking at your scalp. "One night we were just sat watching the telly, I rubbed the side of my head underneath my hair with my fingers, it wasn't itchy, and I felt the tiniest lump. I said to my husband Oliver 'what's that on my head?' and moved my hair. He said 'you've got a mole on your head'. "I messaged my mum because I thought 'if she says that's been there ever since I was a child I won't worry too much about it'. But Mum said she didn't remember me having a mole. A friend said 'why don't you message your hairdresser? She looks at your scalp every eight to 12 weeks'. "I sent her a picture of it and she said that it looked bigger and darker than when she last saw it, that's what made me go and get it checked. The fact my hairdresser could say 'that looks bigger' meant it was changing, so she helped save my life."
‌
After spotting the mole on December 1st, Michaela used a mole-mapping app on December 2 and was told by a dermatologist to 'err on the side of caution' and get it checked by her GP.
Michaela Peacock, 35, in hospital getting the mole on her scalp removed
(Image: Kennedy News and Media )
Article continues below
On January 2 she had a doctor's appointment and was given an urgent referral to North West Anglia hospital in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on January 8. There, the mole was removed, biopsied and six weeks later identified as melanoma. Michaela said: "The mole was brown around the edges but really dark in the middle - it was the pigment in it that made the doctors worry. I was shocked when they said it was melanoma. My first thought was 'is this going to end up as a death sentence?' Melanoma caught early is very treatable and curable, but when you hear the word 'cancer' you think of death. "I've never used sunbeds in my life, but when I was a teenager and young adult I never used to wear sun cream because I didn't like the feel of it. I'm very fair skinned and would never tan, so to get any hint of a tan I'd have to burn first and unfortunately in the past I've had some awful sunburn. "The consultant said it only takes one time to have a blistering sunburn and melanoma can present itself 20 years later, so I think it's from years of not looking after my skin." Now waiting on biopsy results from other moles on her stomach and inside her lip, Michaela is sharing her story to 'scare' people into being responsible in the sun. Michaela said: "I wear SPF all the time now anyway and on sunny days I wear factor 50, a hat and sunglasses. When you get a diagnosis of melanoma it almost terrifies you to go out, you kind of feel you want to become a vampire. I went to pick the kids up from school and even just walking across the playground to get to the shady bit I could feel the sun on my arms, it makes you so paranoid. "I just don't think people think of skin cancer as anything that serious. I've even had people say 'it's only skin cancer'. What a stupid thing to say. Melanoma is deadly, it kills people. I can bang onto people all the time, 'wear your SPF', don't lay out in the sun'. How do you hit home to people not to do it? I don't know how to do that unless you scare people, which is what my tactic is."
NHS guidance on melanoma
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that can spread to other areas of the body, the NHS website says. The main cause of melanoma is ultraviolet light, which comes from the sun and is used in sunbeds. Things that increase your chances of getting melanoma include your age and having pale skin, a large number of moles and a family history of skin cancer. It's often possible to prevent skin cancer by being careful in the sun - for example, by using sunscreen and reapplying it regularly.