PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Dr. Monique Gary is a breast surgeon in Upper Bucks County. She’s been in practice for 11 years and was inspired to pursue oncology surgery by her mother and grandmother — both of whom were nurses.
“They both got afflicted with cancer. My mother, at 29, she died, leaving two girls behind. And my grandmother, who then took up that mantle and raised us, and got diagnosed with breast cancer twice in her life,” she shared.
Dr. Gary runs Still Rise Farms, a 40-acre retreat center in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, that serves as a sanctuary, offering holistic wellness support for those navigating the challenges of cancer and chronic illness.
“What I've heard people say is that from the minute they hit the driveway before they park their car, that there's something that comes over them. There's a stillness, a peace,” she said.
Her holistic approach to healing the whole person comes from the belief that healing comes from the land and the food. The concept of Still Rise Farms came from the belief that in order to rise in health and wholeness, you've got to learn to be still.
“The concept of being still so you can rise again is really what it's born out of. A place where you can listen to the land and let it speak, where you can listen to your body, maybe for the first time, right?” Dr. Gary said.
The farm features agricultural programs, horticultural therapy, immersive wellness experiences and fit farm activities. She said it’s all about the 4 M’s: Meals, movement and mindset, and how it all works together with medicine.
“Studies show that outcomes are better when we acknowledge that the mind, the body, and the spirit are one. I tell a patient, ‘I do you no service by removing your tumor, if we haven't talked about the other cancers in your life and the other things that are contributing to disease,’” the holistic healer said.
Dr. Gary said she wants the community to focus on what wellness looks like, and she’s happy to play a role in their healing.
“I wake up every day, and I feel very grateful, like I can't believe I have a job that allows me to interact with people and help to change a small part of their lives,” she said.