Miss USA's cancer scare prompts education campaign | Health & Medicine | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

If Crystle Stewart had a nickname suitable to her life right now, it would likely be "The Body." The 26-year-old Missouri City resident and University of Houston graduate is the reigning Miss USA, and is known for winning, hands-down, every swimsuit competition she's been in. This beauty is also smart, confident and healthy. Not long ago she had a breast cancer scare — a biopsy showed that a lump was benign — and she's taken on breast cancer awareness as the theme of her year as Miss USA. She took time recently for a photo shoot at The Endeavour luxury high-rise in Seabrook and talked with Chronicle Health editor Diane Cowen.

Q: How did you get interested in beauty pageants?

A: I was at the mall and ran into a friend who used to compete in pageants. She encouraged me to do it. I never in a million years thought I'd compete, let alone win.

Q: You won on your first try?

A: No, I competed in the Miss Houston pageant before and was a runner up a few times — but I won the swimsuit contests. Eventually I won Miss Texas USA (in July 2007) and then Miss USA (in April 2008). (She also placed in the top 10 in the Miss Universe pageant in July 2008.)

Q: So you always knew you had a great body?

A: It's funny, but I didn't. My friend had asked me "How's your body?" and all I could say was "I don't know." I ran track in high school so I guess I was in shape. But I got in a swimsuit, and every year I won.

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Miss USA's cancer scare prompts education campaign | Health & Medicine | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

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