Sarasota resident, Syesha Mercado is living her dream as one of the final three in this year’s American Idol competition. 4women.com will be attending the parade in her honor. Remember - “you can’t discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore!” Go Syesha!

More and more, health-care professionals recognize exercise as a very important part of the cancer care plan. Just ask Anna Schwartz, FNP, PhD, FAAN ,  to explain the health benefits that can be enjoyed by people doing the right types of activities. For the hairless - it’s what to wear on our heads while exercising!  A women called me the other day and told me she had been to a seminar where they showed her how to wrap a tee shirt on her head for exercising during treatment -NOW I’VE HEARD EVERYTHING - Aren’t we disadvantaged enough without having to wrap tee shirts around our heads? Is this supposed to be fashion??

Recently my sister and her two children were visiting. Her 4 year old did not remember me from his last visit. For the first several days of the visit, I was wearing a scarf on my bald head. He didn’t seem to notice or comment on the fact that I didn’t have any hair. One night I wore my wig and he became visibly frightened; hiding behind his Mom! He said “I don’t like you with hair!”

Lesson learned? A child eyes see beauty for what it is -not by what we project as beauty. Those of us without hair must remember to believe in our own beauty - let our inner beauty be a reflection who we are!

One of my personal goals has been to run a half marathon. I’ve run long races, but never the challenging distance of 13.1 miles. My plans to achieve this goal were derailed when Alopecia entered my life.

Alopecia gives no warning: one day you have hair … one day it’s falling out in clumps … in three months you are bald. Bang! Just like that! Lost my hair, lost my freedom to be me. Lost my ability to freely do the things I enjoy, like running.

What am I going to wear on my head? Such a simple question with no simple answer. I did run a race with the “do rag” and baseball cap, so often seen by the hairless. A stiff wind got under my hat and exposed my bald head for everyone to gape at!

Last year, I introduced the BeauBeau in workout fabric. I needed to personally test this concept in action. I want to report that I ran the half marathon in comfort, style and FREEDOM! Yeah — exercise BeauBeaus!

Reports about the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer seem to be making the news a lot lately. I’m from three generations of breast cancer survivors. Our family carries the BRCA2 gene mutation.

Last week the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that the previous statistics of 60-80 percent risk of developing breast cancer by age 70 may actually be more likely in the 36-52 percent risk range. Dr. Susan Love blogged about this on her site, where you can also find some additional comments I’ve made.

When I underwent my genetic counseling, it was strongly recommended that BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene carriers remove their ovaries to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. Yesterday, the Journal of Clinical Oncology reported that the benefits of ovary removal may have very different responses to risk-reducing interventions. Here’s a Washington Post story about the JCO report.

Personally, the statistics are a moot point for me. My life had become a series of mammograms, MRIs, ultrasounds and biopsies. I made the decision to remove healthy breast tissue for my own peace of mind. Today, I pay little attention to the data. The decision to have prophylactic surgery is personal, but I know it was the right choice for me.

Scarves are an important fashion accessory! Just because we don’t have hair doesn’t mean we can’t be up to date in the world of fashion. My goal is to create a more fashionable image for those of us without hair.

In the world of fashion, color and images are forefront in a designer’s mind. At 4women.com, we follow fashion trends closely and try to deliver a product that will properly accessorize your wardrobe. What’s the fashion buzz for spring? Here it is – hot off the press!

Geometrics are HOT! Florals are still around, but will have a more graphic feel to them. Ease is replacing squeeze, meaning that clothes will be more go with the flow and relaxed; a ’70s feel. You’ll see some tye dye, dots, graphic lines, mosaics and even some horseplay.

Let’s talk about color – a rainbow of colors with a concentration on citron and shades of yellow. Spring fashions are all about defining comfort in a combo of color. 4Women.com is putting together a cohesive collection of on-vision scarves just in time for your spring wardrobe.

I love to say “just because I lost my hair doesn’t mean I’ve lost my sense of style.”

Spring is just around the corner!

Here’s a note from Lisa in Florida. It expresses a lot of the feelings I hear from women not only in Florida, but all around the world, and I’m touched by the notion that we’re making not just a fashion statement, but also helping to reduce fear:

I have all your scarves hanging on a special hanger. Everyone I show them to really thinks they are pretty. If I have to lose my hair, I will be proud to wear them.

Since I have to deal with this, at least I will feel pretty while I go through it. As I progress through my chemo, you will probably see me in a picture with one of your Beau Beaus. Honestly, they are the one reason I’m not as scared about losing my hair.

(Thank you for the note, Lisa, and for the wonderful photo — and for allowing me to share them both here on my blog.)

Losing one’s hair has many emotions attached to it. I take the time to really listen to women express their fears and emotions about losing their hair. Recently, I was speaking to a woman who was about to begin her journey of chemotherapy and hair loss. She seemed grateful to be able to share her emotions regarding hair loss to someone who understood.

Such comments as “it’s only your hair” only serve to further the gap between the hairless and those with hair. It doesn’t seem fair that women undergoing treatment also have to deal with appearance issues as well. When I get an e-mail from a woman telling me, “after receiving my scarves, I am almost looking forward to losing my hair,” I feel as though I’m making a difference.

I simply love the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Pelican Press here in Sarasota, Florida, ran a wonderful article about the BeauBeau. Read it over here on their Web site, or in this PDF file. Thanks to Liberty Veedon from everyone here at BeauBeau!

“You’ll seldom experience regret for anything that you’ve done. It is what you haven’t done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear. Do it! Develop an appreciation for the present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value your present moments. Using them up in any self-defeating ways means you’ve lost them forever.”
—Dr. Wayne Dyer

Thanks for stopping by. It seems like everyone else is blogging these days, so I thought, “Why not me?” Let’s give it a whirl!

What am I going to be blogging about? Well, it seems like every day I hear so many stories from women whose lives are changed for the better because of what we’re doing here at 4Women.com with the BeauBeau. You can read some of them over on our testimonials page, but the responses are so overwhelming , I wanted a new way to be able to share them with you. The blog format will allow you to share your thoughts about them. I hope some wonderful conversations will develop!

Beyond testimonials, I’ll be sharing some words of inspiration that come my way. We all have nuggets of wisdom that cross our path from time to time. They make us smile and laugh, give us energy and fuel our optimism. I’ll file those in here under the “Inspirations” category.

Of course, I’ll be filling you in on news about new products and designs, new outlets where the BeauBeau can be seen and purchased and that sort of thing. Plus, I’m hoping a lot of ideas will present themselves along the way to make this blog truly an organic and ever-changing communication resource.

Above all, though, I hope that in the weeks and months to come, this blog will be less about me and more about you. I want to hear your stories, your thoughts, your ideas — whatever’s on your mind, let me know here on the blog or drop us a note on the contact us page.

Together, let’s make this little corner of the Web a place where we can all gather and share some of the things that make us smile.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Warm Regards,

Susan

susan@4women.com