A Singaporean lady, Chan See Ting, has taken the bold step of turning to Facebook to call attention to her medical condition and seek out others who might be going through the same experience so as to start a support group:
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Her condition is known as alopecia areata (AA), an autoimmune disease in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body.
It is known to affect one in 1,000 people, although its severity varies. Loss of hair can occur at one specific part of the body and in some cases, progress to other areas.
The hair tends to fall out over a short period of time and the cause is thought to be hereditary, which means people are born with it with some people more prone to it.
The condition is definitely not contagious, it can come and go, but it also can be lifelong, where it most commonly occurs in the late teenage years, early childhood, or young adulthood.
It tends to cause psychological stress among sufferers as it alters the physical appearance of the person.
There is no known cure but measures can be taken to stem hair loss.
As such, here is See Ting's request:
If you know of anyone who is fighting this battle, please help to bridge this gap between us so that we can support each other and know that we are not alone. I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of crowdsourcing, and as I'm typing this all my fears and doubts are clouding my thoughts, but you guys have shown me the power of social media can make incredible things happen. Just by clicking 'share', you can actually make a huge difference.
So internet, let's make this happen.
Yes, Internet, make this happen.
Update (Aug. 26, 2.25am):
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