Cheryl and I were visiting friends several days ago when the husband sat down at his family’s computer and started watching this video of Cheryl trying on wigs.

When his wife saw Cheryl in the video, she immediately blurted out, “Wow, Cheryl! Is that you? Girl, have you ever thought about wearing wigs all the time!”

The husband and I were taken aback and immediately called his wife’s attention…

When it comes to disease, rename it, and they will come

‘Hyperhidrosis’ sexier than ‘excessive perspiration’

Teresa Smith

Canwest News Services

Monday, December 08, 2008

New terms for familiar ailments can result in more people seeking medication, says a study released Monday by researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton.

The study looked at the…

In one episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, George dated and claimed to have fallen in love with a bald woman named Georgina.

Jerry couldn’t believe his ears and yelled, “How could you possibly love a bald woman?”

“Since when was love about looks?” responded George.

“It’s always been about looks!” shouted Jerry.

Given that my fiancée, Cheryl Carvery, prefers to keep her head shaved bald because…

Which of the U.S. presidential candidates, including so-called 3rd-party candidates, do you believe would do the most to improve the lives of alopecians? Of course, your answer to this question will depend on how you view the candidates' proposed health care policies. But perhaps there ought to be some consideration of the candidates' overall economic visions as well.

In any event, do any of the candidates speak to or for you as an alopecian? Based on what you've learned…

I recently read an article that describes alopecia as "a cruel disease that leaves men and women feeling ashamed" as a result of losing their hair.

It was an article about Helen King, a wife and mother of two who has alopecia universalis, which means she has lost all the hair on her body. This happened to her after she had several bouts with alopecia areata, which is the loss of head…

Take a stand against lookism (unfair appearance-based…

I shared this with the Men Who Don't Mind group and thought it might do some good to share it with the rest of Alopecia World as well. Of course, I'd love to know how you feel about these matters.

It's one thing for me or anyone else to accept the fact that alopecians -- or anyone else, for that matter -- may feel the way they do about something, but it's quite another thing altogether for someone to express…

TV presenter Gail Porter says her hair is starting to grow back, three years after she developed alopecia.

"I have brows and lashes again, after so long," she told the Sunday Mirror. "Isn't it fantastic?"

"I've just been on holiday and I feel wonderful," she added. "I was so relaxed they started to grow back."

The 37-year-old lost almost all of her blonde, glossy hair overnight in…

In just over a day from now, I will be attending NAAF's annual conference for the very first time in my life. Of course, I owe this honor to my fiancée and co-founder of Alopecia World, Cheryl Carvery, who has been living with alopecia areata for nearly 20 years. Since it is my pleasure to support Cheryl, and given my involvement with Alopecia World, I am excited to have the opportunity to attend this year's conference. However, this means that I am going to miss seeing my middle daughter's…

My fiancée, Cheryl Carvery, is not the first alopecic woman I've dated. Another one of my female companions was also bald, but I had forgotten all about it because my ex always wore a scarf and never made much at all of her baldness because, clearly, she had much deeper concerns.

My ex, whose name was Karen, also had one of her breasts removed due to cancer and constantly battled the disease after being diagnosed in her late 20’s. She endured a mastectomy and a seemingly endless…

Cheryl and I saw this Shreddies billboard while driving around Windsor, Ontario earlier today. I just had stop and take a picture, not only because the sign is funny, but also because it teaches a great lesson about coping with life and its challenges. Oftentimes, the real problem in our lives is the negative ways in which we're looking at things. As I wrote in an essay titled "This Joy I Have,"

Problems tend not…

If there's any good thing living with alopecia can do for you, it's make you more sensitive and responsive to the support needs of other human beings. Like most, if not all, of life's challenges, coping with alopecia calls attention to the very human need for acceptance, affirmation, and other forms vital emotional assistance. It's yet another reminder that it is not good for humans to be alone, isolated and insulated from the embrace and encouragement of those around…