DN native returns to offer advice to Women’s Club

Speaking to the Crescent City Women’s Club during a luncheon last week, health and beauty entrepreneur Susan Elizabeth Santsche reminded the ladies to take care of themselves.

Santsche, a native of Crescent City, owns a spa, Personal Choice, in Eureka, where she is a business consultant and author.

She told the women that their lives can be what they want them to be and now is the time to think, “What do I want to create in the second half of my life?”

Santsche spoke of her deep family roots in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. She told the women that her grandmother was president of the Women’s Club in 1959. What the women can do to make a difference in their community is tell their stories and make sure local history is recorded, she said.

As a teenager in Crescent City, she wanted to marry her boyfriend as soon as possible, but her mother had always told her to “find something to support yourself.” She got married, but decided to go to beauty school in Eureka. This decision would prove to be serendipitous later in her life. She learned a variety of beauty skills: color coordination and how to give facials and massages.

In the 1980s, by then a mother of two small children, Santsche opened a salon in Eureka. But then tragedy struck. Her husband was shot while on a deer hunting trip and was no longer able to work due to debilitating injuries. The family was burdened with financial trouble. Santsche decided to expand her business into a salon and spa to get beyond their financial problems.

A lot of times women get so busy taking care of other people, they forget to take care of themselves, Santsche said. This was the case with her, she admitted. While pregnant with her third child, Santsche discovered she had cervical cancer. She was able to give birth and then deal with the disease.

“It’s important to realize you come first,” she told the women.

After beating cervical cancer, Santsche later learned she had aggressive breast cancer, which she has also beaten. Going through her own medical ordeals, it occurred to Santsche that everyone should have access to their own medical records.

Most people don’t realize that they can look at the doctors’ notes and test results, she said. Looking at all this information will help people understand what’s wrong with them, ask better questions and decided what’s the best treatment for them, Santsche told the women.

Having immediate access to medical records may also be necessary in an emergency, she said.

Santsche founded Courage Awareness, a health advocacy organization that raises awareness about patients’ rights to medical records. For more information, go to courage­awareness.com.

Reach Kelley Atherton at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it