Susan Beausang

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Susan Beausang is an ACTIVE American business woman who comes from three generations of breast cancer. She was also one of the first women to own a seat on the Philadelphia STOCK Exchange. When genetic testing became available to individuals like Mrs. Beausang who had a strong family history of cancer, she decided to go ahead with the procedure. She discovered through this genetic testing that she was in fact a carrier of the BRCA2 gene, making her a high-risk individual (85% lifetime chance of getting the disease) for cancer. She then made the decision to have voluntary surgery to remove her ovaries, and a few years later underwent a prophylactic mastectomy to remove both of her healthy breasts, making her a pre-vivor.

Shortly after her final surgery, Mrs. Beausang was diagnosed with Alopecia, an auto-immune disease that causes varying degrees of hair loss. In just three months she had lost all of her hair to one of the most aggressive forms of Alopecia, Alopecia Universalis . Unable to find a head covering which fit her active lifestyle, Mrs. Beausang developed her own pattern for a headscarf, which ultimately led to the establishment of her company, 4Women.com, Inc. Her company currently provides fashionable headscarves and accessories for women and girls with medical hair loss.

Personal Life

Susan Beausang is currently married with three biological children and two step-children. She lives in Sarasota,Fl with her husband where she runs her company, 4Women.com. From a young age and into her adult life Mrs. Beausang has been exposed to breast cancer. As a child she was often confused by the misshapen way her grandmother's clothes hung on one side of her body, as one side was completely concave due to the absence of one breast. This was because her grandmother's breast cancer diagnosis was treated during the early 20th century, when radical mastectomies were the standard; often women going in for an assumed lumpectomy would awake with the affected breast removed without consultation. These surgeries removed not only the entire breast, but the the lymph nodes underneath the arm, as well as the chest muscles on the affected side of the body. She would see three more family members diagnosed, as thirty years later her mother was also diagnosed with breast cancer, and shortly after that two of her 5 sisters as well.

Through genetic testing Mrs. Beausang was able to discover she carried a gene which, as at that time it was reported, put her at 85% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Armed with this information, she made the decision to have voluntary oophorectomy surgery to remove her ovaries and, a few years later, underwent a prophylactic mastectomy with reconstruction to remove both of her healthy breasts.

Unfortunately the oophorectomy did not go well. Mrs. Beausang developed an infection after surgery, and she was prescribed the antibiotic Levaquin. She experienced a severed adverse [...] reaction to the Levaquin and developed sensory nerve damage in both her Achilles tendons; a partial tear on one side, and severe tendinitis on the other. As a result of her ADR to the [...], Mrs. Beausang was unable to walk for over three months, requiring a leg cast, wheelchair or crutches. It took over a year for her to fully recover her active lifestyle.

Alopecia Diagnosis

Shortly after her prophylactic mastectomy, Mrs. Beausang was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, an auto-immune disease that causes an individual's immune system to attack and reject their hair follicles. Her hair first began falling out in the shower, in handfuls; within six months she had lost all off her hair, including her eyelashes and eyebrows.

Mrs. Beausang then attempted to find a wig that was not only natural looking and comfortable, but which fit her active lifestyle as well; ultimately she was unsuccessful. Mrs. Beausang next began searching for head coverings and scarves instead, but could not find products which she found fashionable, attractive or feminine.

Business Life

Susan Beausang's struggle between comfortably covering her baldness, and finding a head scarf that was fashionable ultimately led her to design her own line of head scarves and create a company from which to do so. One of the main problems Mrs. Beausang found with head coverings that were offered before she started developing her own, was the distinct style of the often dubbed "cancer hats", the multiple steps required for wear, and the worry that the head covering may fall off and expose her baldness.

Before her pattern was put into production and available for her use, Mrs. Beausang would repeatedly be stopped by strangers asking invasive questions AbOUT her medical history, as they assumed her baldness was due to cancer; Alopecia is a relatively unknown disease. Her approach to business thus encompasses a sensitivity to the societal reaction to bald women.

The Beaubeau

The beaubeau is the main component of Susan Beausang's business for women with medical hair loss, 4Women.com, Inc. The name was chosen as a play on both Mrs. Beausang's last name, and the first four letters of the word 'beautiful', as the goal of the product is to help women who have lost their hair feel beautiful in lieu of their baldness. The beaubeau of Mrs.Beausang's company is made available in several fabrics, including rayon, silk, rayon-jersey, and spandex for exercise beaubeaus[24].