A mum who mistakenly thought her son has scribbled on her head had her life saved by her hairdresser.
Lee King was getting her hair done when the stylist noticed a 10p-size mark on her scalp
Initially, she brushed it off - thinking her son Lucas, seven, had drawn on her - but her hairdresser Ricci urged her to check it out.
Doctors told the 43-year-old she had a type of mole called a blue nevus, which is generally benign.
But Lee suspects it would have become malignant as it it grew so rapidly, and now counts it as a blessing that it was spotted.
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here
The mum-of-one needed three surgeries to remove the entire mole and getting the all clear was the 'best news ever'.
Now she wants to raise awareness of the importance of checking all over your body.
Lee, of Perth, Australia, said: "The haircut saved my life.
"Blue nevi generally aren't malignant but saying that they're normally the size of a pin prick and anything that grows that big and that quickly is not good.
"So it probably would have turned [got bigger and become malignant] and I'm just lucky that it was seen.
"Wear your sunscreen every day and check your body including your head, especially if you live in countries like Australia.
"Most people don't check their scalps. It's quite funny, my friends are now checking their scalps so if that's one thing I can get people to do, it would be a good thing.
"Just look after yourself because prevention is better than cure, if you can prevent something you don't have to go through the surgeries and other sorts of stuff that could come with that."
Doctors revealed that blue nevus are caused by intermittent light and that the mole formed on the side of her head that's exposed to the sun while driving.
Lee said: "One of my best friends is my hairdresser and she did my hair back in November 2020 and there was nothing there.
"In May 2021 I had a bit of an updo and she did it again and said to me 'there's something on the side of my head' and took a picture.
"I thought my son had drawn on my head, which is quite possible but she'd just done some skin studies and knew that it wasn't right.
"The dermatologist took one look and said it was a blue nevus and that he'd never ever seen anything like that in 30 years. It really scared me.
"I developed a 20 cent piece-sized [around 24mm diameter] blue nevus within six months, anything that grows that quickly on your head isn't ideal, so I was pretty concerned."
The online business owner had a total of three surgeries to remove the mole from her head and described the final two as 'painful'.
Lee said: "I'm a positive person and tried to stay positive, but something like that on your head near the brain makes you freak out a little bit.
"I just wanted it gone. There was a tiny bit left [after the second operation] and he said 'look we can leave it' and I said 'no just get it all off my head, I don't want it there'.
"Being given the results that I was all clear was just the best news ever. It's been a long process and I really want to raise awareness of it.
"I'm sort of getting over it myself as well, it's been nearly 12 months but I'm ready to get it out there because it's such an odd thing.
"If it helps someone else, then it would be a good thing."
