Three years ago, Queen Stewart was a successful lawyer in Camden County. On Oct. 26, a day before her 36th birthday, she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. The biggest realization with Stewart was that there was no real joy she could find in her life outside of her husband and children. 

Stewart was a guest speaker at Health and Resilience: A Survivor’s Story and Expert Panel on Preventative Care. The Women’s Alliance Network (WAN) hosted this event to highlight the importance of proactive healthcare and emphasize the significance of self-care. The panel was held on Oct. 9 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) auditorium. 

Guests were greeted with a small tabling fair from different organizations at Rowan before the start of the panel. Some organizations present were Rowan Gourmet Dining, which had informational posters about how to eat healthier and incorporate more wholesome foods into a daily diet. Another table offered free flu shots by a licensed physician, including an advisory poster about who could not receive a shot. 

Taking a step back from academics, WAN wanted to showcase to the Rowan community the significance of self-care. WAN’s advisory board chair, Deniz Dennery, hopes that they can hold more events at CMSRU. 

“I’m grateful not only to the board and the special events chair for putting an event like this together to talk about preventative health care and shine a light on October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Dennery. 

The panelists at this event included: Dr. Dan Hyman, a professor of clinical medicine, Dr. Robin Perry, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Catherine Loveland-Jones, an associate professor of clinical surgery, and Dr. Philip Fizur, an assistant professor of medicine, all of whom work at CMSRU. 

Moderator, Dr. Jocelyn Mitchell-Williams, asked the audience questions so that each panelist could give healthcare advice based on their areas of expertise. One of the questions was to Dr. Fizur about how to improve emotional and mental health. 

“Taking care of your emotional health needs to be normalized to the same degree as you know preventative care for your physical health,” said Dr. Fizur. “The easiest thing you can do for your preventative health is get good sleep.” 

However, the psychologist believes this is easier said than done, and he points out that there are flexible approaches to getting good sleep. Sleep coaching exists for individuals who have trouble going to bed. Fitbit has also created sleep coaching features for users that provide an analysis of sleep patterns. 

Since October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Loveland-Jones spoke that evening to tell the audience the importance of checking oneself for bumps. College students might not believe that they are at risk, but the breast surgeon urges everyone to self-assess.

“I would echo what Dr. Mitchell-Williams said, just maintaining awareness of everything, including your breasts. You know, bringing any sort of new findings to the attention of your gynecologist is always helpful,” said Dr. Loveland-Jones.

She advises young students to take a look at their family history of breast cancer as if it runs in the family it is important to let their primary care providers be aware of this. In their mid-twenties, the primary care providers can refer them to a breast specialist. 

With all of this discussion on how to get better sleep, identifying lung cancer as one gets older, breast self-examining, and other health care tips, it is also relevant to not lose joy in life. The breast cancer survivor, Stewart, noticed that while being in chemotherapy, worrying every day about her diagnosis there was no joy. 

Stewart recalled being forced to shut her law office down as she could not stand up for long. It gave her the realization that there was no pursuit in her life. 

“I was forced to think about my life in 2021 and whether I had real joy. I was forced to think about whether I was living with purpose, or was I just doing things because I felt like they were the right things to do for appearances,” said Stewart. 

The preventative health care panel offered a wide range of advice for audience members of all ages. Most importantly, it encouraged people to live their full lives. 

“I urge no matter how old you are, nine or 99, to think about what in your life have you left behind. What inside of you are you hiding, are you masking, or living for appearances?” said Queen Stewart. 

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