Susan Beausang, Neighbor

I am the President of 4women.com and designer of the patented beaubeau® head scarf, a fashionable scarf designed specifically for women and girls with hair loss.  The beaubeau® unites the worlds of fashion and medical hair loss.  4women.com's mission is to help women and girls cope with the emotional upheaval of medical hair loss with dignity and confidence and to advocate for greater attention to the emotional impacts of medical hair loss among medical professionals and the public.

I lost my hair quite suddenly in 2002 due to the autoimmune disease, alopecia universalis.   I channeled my fear and depression into a positive and proactive goal of ensuring that I and other women and girls with medical hair loss have a fashionable accessory that empowers us to step back out into the world with dignity, feeling confident and beautiful, not sick.  I also come from three generations of breast cancer survivors and am a BRCA2 genetic mutation carrier.  Upon learning of my BRCA2 status, I underwent prophylactic mastectomies and oophorectomy.  Through a Moffitt study I recently participated in, I learned that I had a pre-cancerous cyst in my pancreas and opted to have a Whipple procedure to remove that part of my pancreas.  I am a Previvor, having surrendered multiple body parts now in an effort to cheat cancer. I am cancer-free, but very much empathize with women who lose their hair during chemotherapy.  I strive to be a source of strength and hope for women and girls with medical hair loss.

Learn more at www.4women.com.