Woman, 68, diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time after her hair stylist found a mysterious bald spot on her HEAD

  • Patricia Bolle, 68, from Haslett, Michigan, was diagnosed with breast cancer 13 years ago but was declared cancer-free
  • A year ago, Bolle was getting her hair cut when her stylist found a bald spot on the back of her head that was red and splotchy
  • A biopsy determined it was stage IV breast cancer that had spread throughout Bolle's body
  • She is now on oral chemotherapy drugs and says she wants to warn others about the signs to look out for

By Mary Kekatos Health Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

A Michigan woman was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time after her hair stylist found a bald spot on her head.

Patricia Bolle, 68, was getting a haircut last year when her hairdresser noticed a red and splotchy spot near the crown of her head.

A trip to the doctor's office and a biopsy showed that it was the most advanced stage of breast cancer and it had spread.

Now, Bolle, from Haslett, says she wants to share her story to warn others about the signs to look out for before it's too late.

Patricia Bolle, 68 (pictured), from Haslett, Michigan, was first diagnosed with breast cancer 13 years ago but thought she was cancer-free
Bolle (pictured) was getting a haircut a year ago when her stylist noticed a bald spot on the back of her head

Patricia Bolle, 68 (left and right), from Haslett, Michigan, was first diagnosed with breast cancer 13 years ago but thought she was cancer-free. She was getting a haircut a year ago when her stylist noticed a bald spot on the back of her head

Hairdresser Nikki McClure said the spot was a little bigger than the size of a dime and described it as red and splotchy. Pictured: McClure cutting Bolle's hair

Hairdresser Nikki McClure said the spot was a little bigger than the size of a dime and described it as red and splotchy. Pictured: McClure cutting Bolle's hair

Bolle told WILX that she was first diagnosed with breast cancer 13 years ago after she found a lump on her breast.

'I went through the chemo and radiation and surgery to remove all signs of that,' she told the station. 'That was a course of nine months.'

After Bolle passed the five-year survival point, she assumed she was cancer-free and and her yearly mammograms never detected any lumps.

LOW-FAT DIET WITH VEGETABLES AND FRUITS COULD REDUCE BREAST CANCER DEATH RISK

Eating a low-fat diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables could protect women against breast cancer.

A May 2018 study found that women who reduced their consumption of ice cream, cakes and other dairy products were less likely to die from the disease.

Women with a poor prognosis also developed fewer tumors after cutting out fat, said the team, hailing from different institutions including the City of Hope National Medical Center in California and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. 

For the study about 19,500 participants took part in dietary intervention and reduced their fat intake to 20 percent of their daily calories and increased their fruit, vegetable and grain consumption.

In comparison, more than 29,000 continued eating their normal diets.

Over the course of the trial, 1,764 women were diagnosed with breast cancer - 671 in the intervention group and 1,063 in the usual diet group.

The team found that there were eight percent fewer deaths in the intervention group with 68 deaths compared to 120.   

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But one year ago, Bolle was at Blush Salon in Commerce Township, Michigan, getting a haircut from her friend and the salon's owner, Nikki McClure.

'Nikki was pulling my hair up and she said: "Oh my God, you have a bald spot there",' Bolle recalls her saying.

'And I said: "I do?" So she showed me in the mirror and I went: "I had no idea".'

McClure told WILX that the bald spot was near the back of Bolle's head and just a bit bigger than the size of a dime.

'It looked like it had been burned,' McClure said. 'It was kind of red and splotchy and so I asked her if she burned it and she said: "No".'

'I kind of poked it a little bit and asked if it was sensitive and she said: "No."'

Bolle visited her doctor's office and a biopsy was performed. The results showed she had stage IV breast cancer, the most advanced stage.

Stage IV breast cancer, also known as metastatic breast cancer, describes the stage at which cancer cells break away from the original tumor in the breast and travel throughout the body either via the bloodstream or the lymphatic system.

It is estimated that about 154,000 US adults have metastatic breast cancer, although most diagnoses are made months or years after someone has completed treatment for breast cancer.

When cancer cells start spreading, they can form on or just below the skin.

Most commonly they form on the chest, near the surgical scar, or on the stomach, according to Breast Cancer Care.

It is much less common for skin metastases, as they are called, to appear on the scalp or neck.

According to a 2017 review from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, breast cancer manifestations in the head and neck are the first sign in approximately one-third of cases.

Signs that the spots are cancerous include redness, inflammation and swelling.  

Doctors performed a biopsy on the spot and discovered that it was stage IV breast cancer that had spread throughout her body. She is now on oral chemotherapy drugs. Pictured: Bolle

Doctors performed a biopsy on the spot and discovered that it was stage IV breast cancer that had spread throughout her body. She is now on oral chemotherapy drugs. Pictured: Bolle

McClure (pictured) says she feels lucky she was able to help her friend and says that if she had not found the bald spot, she does not believe doctors would have

McClure (pictured) says she feels lucky she was able to help her friend and says that if she had not found the bald spot, she does not believe doctors would have

Stage IV breast cancer occurs when cancer cells break away from the original tumor. When the cells start spreading, they can form on or just below the skin. However, metastases on the head and neck are rare. Pictured: X-rays showing the cancer found on Bolle's head

Stage IV breast cancer occurs when cancer cells break away from the original tumor. When the cells start spreading, they can form on or just below the skin. However, metastases on the head and neck are rare. Pictured: X-rays showing the cancer found on Bolle's head

'I was devastated and in shock because I had already battled it 13 years ago and won,' Bolle said.

Currently, the 68-year-old is taking oral chemotherapy drugs to kill her cancer cells. Despite having to battle cancer for a second time, she says she is optimistic.   

'I'm not home free, I mean. Metastatic breast cancer, it's relentless and it will eventually come back,' Bolle said.

'But at this point with the new drugs that are being out there, it could be years.'

McClure says she feels lucky she was able to help her friend and says that if she had not found the bald spot, she does not believe doctors would have.

'A stylist is the person that looks at your scalp more than your doctor would,' she said. 

'You wouldn't go to a physical and they wouldn't pick through your hair and see if anything's out of the ordinary. They tell you to look for freckles and moles on your body, but nobody thinks about your scalp.' 

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