Bigger than just a mural: Barbershop owner shares her cancer story

As she watched the unveiling of Mary Bird Perkins’ brand-new mural on the side of her North Baton Rouge barbershop last week, Amber Quinn kept returning to one thing: her own battle with breast cancer.

Quinn, who owns Cosey’s Barbershop, is a stage 3 triple negative breast cancer survivor. When the option of having the mural – which promotes equity and access in cancer care, particularly in clinical trials – was presented to her by local nonprofit the Walls Project on behalf of Mary Bird Perkins, she didn’t hesitate.

“’Let’s do it,’” she said.

Cosey’s Barbershop has been a Plank Road landmark for decades. Quinn’s ownership of the business began after her father William Cosey Jr.’s passing – incidentally, from cancer – in 2010, and her own cancer journey began seven years later.

“The process was very scary, certainly starting out,” she recalled. “But I had really good nurses and doctors, and they made everything very transparent for me.”

Quinn underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment at Mary Bird Perkins in Baton Rouge. Despite a 2022 scare she said she has been “doing really well” and is now in remission.

“It’s bigger than just a mural,” she said. “It’s something I personally went through, and Mary Bird Perkins is the reason I’m here to talk about it.”

Designed by California-based artist Venazir Martinez and commissioned by the Walls Project, the colorful mural – adorned with the words ‘Representation Matters in Cancer Research’ – aims to spark conversation, deepen public understanding of clinical trials and remind the community of the importance of diverse representation in cancer research. Its prominent Plank Road location keeps it in view of hundreds of travelers every day.

Mary Bird Perkins’ clinical trials program is led by Dr. Victor Lin. Currently, minority populations make up 21% of those on an active clinical trial at Mary Bird Perkins, while in 2024 18% of new clinical trial enrollments were from minority populations. This is well above national averages, which tend to be disproportionately less than their representation in the US population.

The Cancer Center’s clinical trials program recently received a nearly $400,000 grant from the Gilead Foundation. The two-year grant funds a dedicated patient navigator and supports community engagement opportunities – like this large-scale mural – to generate more awareness of how clinical trials participation can benefit everyone.