Deb Belfatto will host the third annual Let’s Talk Women’s Health & Wellness Symposium at NJPAC on Saturday, March 29. Photo: Courtesy of Let’s Talk Women’s Health & Wellness/Cortney Van Jahnke
Deb Belfatto makes things happen. The New Jersey native is an unabashed doer who admits her best ideas tend to come during downtime, when she’s prone on the sofa. Case in point: While recovering from her second bout with breast cancer, she hatched a bold plan after nearly 35 years advocating for women’s health and wellness issues. “I had a brain burst while just lying there recovering,” Belfatto says now. “I told my husband, ‘We need a symposium, and I want every woman to be welcome.’”
Her brainchild: Let’s Talk Women’s Health & Wellness, an organization committed to empowering women and advancing women’s health initiatives. The culmination of their efforts is a day-long symposium, scheduled this year for March 29 at NJPAC in Newark.
Anyone who has ever crossed paths with Belfatto will remember her colorful headbands, inspirational-messaged clothing, unstoppable energy and infectious smile. But it’s her take on life that truly makes Belfatto memorable. She lives boldly, repeating mantras and insights and reciting her P words: passion, perseverance, persistence and patience.
Spend an hour with this powerhouse, and you can’t help but be moved. “I have so many ‘isms,’” she says, while peppering nearly every sentence with thoughtful, inspirational encouragement for living life to the fullest. “I live my life by these words,” she says.
A few of her favorite phrases:
“I believe in a path to purpose.”
“Grace with power, power with grace. Never lose sight of grace, no matter what you’re doing.”
“Life has so much to offer, so many incredible experiences, if you are willing to really connect with that bit of boldness that I believe we all have inside of us.”
These words, and more, are not just idle chatter coming from Belfatto. She puts her money, along with her time, passion, and 100 percent of her efforts, where her mouth is and makes things happen.
Belfatto’s journey to giving back started early. She grew up in Orange with “the most wonderful parents,” she says. “They were such giving people.” Her mother’s mantra, “Get up with a purpose every day,” resonates still. “She taught me, ‘You don’t just count your blessings, you share your blessings,’” Belfatto remembers, explaining that her own path to purpose kicked into high gear when she was 33.
She was a new mom—she and her husband, Joe, had welcomed daughter Lindsay two years earlier—when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. “It was 1988, and I had good access to quality health care, fortunately,” she says.
With her resources, connections and relationships, she was able to advocate for herself, get second and third opinions, and eventually seek aggressive care that stopped the cancer and saved her breast. While undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, pondering how lucky she was to have such great care, it occurred to her: What if she hadn’t had that level of access? What about the women who had no network of experts or access to quality health care?
It was that thought that launched her purpose. Belfatto became a devoted women’s health care advocate, a grassroots activist and a dedicated fund-raiser. She founded the Susan G. Komen for the Cure North Jersey chapter in 1997 and became its tireless executive director for more than 15 years. When she finally stepped down in 2013, she didn’t slow down, but rather redirected her efforts to new challenges.
Then, smack dab in the middle of the Covid pandemic, Belfatto had an inkling something wasn’t right. She trusted her gut, visited her doctors, and discovered that she had what she refers to as “WTF breast cancer number 2.” It was not a recurrence, but rather a brand-new cancer diagnosis in Februrary 2021.
It was during this time, lying on the sofa recovering from a bilateral mastectomy, that Belfatto had that fateful brain burst.
“I began thinking about self-care—how we need to take care of ourselves, take time for ourselves,” she says. She became a woman on a mission. “How amazing would it be,” she continues, “if we could provide a safe space where women could learn to truly embrace their feelings of self-worth and become the very best versions of themselves?”
Leaning on her vast network of friends and medical professionals, along with the unwavering support of her husband, she created Let’s Talk Women in 2022. “Have you seen the boobs?” Belfatto asks proudly, referring to the organization’s creative logo. The motivation behind the annual Let’s Talk Women Symposium, she says, is to engage with women from all walks of life. “I want them all in the room, restocking their tool kits, saying, ‘This was the best day.’”
Now in its third year, Let’s Talk Women is a full-time job for Belfatto. Attendance has skyrocketed; Belfatto and her team are hopeful 800–1,000 women attend this March. “That just screams how needed this is,” she says.
This year, emcee Mikki Taylor, author, media personality and beauty expert, will lead a full day of thoughtful and inspiring speakers. Topics include cancer, fertility, menopause, sexual health and mental wellness.
Belfatto is particularly proud of the buy-one-give-one option that allows a registrant to purchase a ticket to be gifted to a woman who can’t afford the $125 price. She explains, “I wear a message on my forehead that says, ‘Come one, come all.’”
In 2018, the Belfattos downsized from their Summit townhouse and moved to Jersey City. “We’re living the full-blown urban lifestyle,” she says. “It’s so on fire.” Belfatto has no plans to slow down. “When you’re faced with a diagnosis twice, there’s no time to waste,” she says. “Why would I stop?”
For more info and to purchase tickets to the Let’s Talk Women’s Health & Wellness Symposium, visit letstalkwellwomen.org.
Lauren Payne, a former senior editor at Ladies’ Home Journal, Woman’s Day and other national magazines, was the Home & Garden editor for New Jersey Monthly until 2022. She is a frequent contributor.
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