a commitment to helping them
improve their health. In particular,
organizers need to make efforts
to help people find care if they’re
diagnosed with disease.
In fact, the University of South
Carolina’s Center for Colon Cancer
Research has made community
outreach a large part of its
role. The center partners with
gastroenterologists, primary care
doctors and community health
centers to provide free colorectal
screening to people with little
or no health insurance in rural
communities and other parts of
South Carolina. And after the pilot
phase of the Shop Talk project
ends, the center plans to conduct
follow-up surveys of people who
completed pledge cards, to see if
that effort helped change their
knowledge and health behavior.
“We have always felt that as
a basic research center we
should be interacting with
the community,” says Berger.
“As academics, we have three
components to our jobs: research,
teaching and service.”
Zuri Sensabaugh, a 33-year-
old clinical counselor who lives in
Goose Creek, S.C., chatted with
Harrington about cancer as she had
her hair styled. “This shop is out-of-the-box,” Sensabaugh says. “It’s
not really out of the norm to come
here and have a discussion outside
of the normal girl-talk stuff.”
Diamond, the stylist from Pynk
Hair Studio who talks to her
regular clients about colorectal
cancer, also chats with all of
her clients about eating right
and drinking water to help keep
the hair healthy. The Shop Talk
training left her thirsty for
more information, she says, and
she’s excited to share her new
knowledge about colon health.
“I feel like we’re hair doctors,”
says Diamond.
CR | Page No. 57 | www.CRmagazine.org
CUTTING IT UP IN THE SALON
While Shop Talk’s four-hour
training sessions provide hair care
professionals the latest and most
accurate information available
about colorectal cancer, the
program’s true service is sparking
the conversations among stylists
and their customers.
Jackson’s salon, Anjae’s
Hair Studio and Spa, in North
Charleston, is a study in
earthiness. Dusty orange walls
complement warm-colored wood
furniture and bamboo window
treatments. When she talks to
people about colorectal cancer,
it is with the sense of urgency
that comes from personal
experience—her father-in-law
died of the disease.
Clients look to Jackson and her
staff as a font of knowledge on
scores of things: recommendations
for doctors, hotels and restaurants,
reservations for plays, and
even the phone number for the
pizza place.
“When they want to know
something, they come to us,” she
says. “They get personal with us,
they open up and they trust us.
Our opinions matter to our clients.”
For Jackson, helping her
clients take charge of their
health is about strengthening
her community, and also about
building her business. “I just want
to make sure they’re taking care
of themselves,” she says. “Without
them, I can’t make money.”
She uses humor to broach the
subject of colon cancer, starting
by talking about her own bowel
movements and asking clients
about theirs.
“You’d be surprised how
much influence we have on our
customers,” says stylist Shanese
“Shay” Harrington, who works
with Jackson. “If we say ‘OK,’
people feel safe. That’s why the
information has to be accurate.”
PODCAST
Trimming Cancer’s Numbers
South Carolina barbers
and stylists are hoping their
haircuts will save lives.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
