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Pop Quiz: Maintaining optimal optical health

| Understanding the causes of low vision and taking precautions as you age | EYESIGHT is a precious thing, and unfortunately there are many threats to optimal optical health. One common eye problem is low vision, and it affects seniors the most. Low vision, in its simplest terms, is any vision loss that interferes with…
Celebrating Black History Month with a look at local African-Americans in medicine

ALEX ALEXANDER Registered Nurse Bartow Regional Medical Center As a black registered nurse from North Carolina, 56-year-old Alex Alexander has had his run-ins with prejudice. But he’s learned to remember who he is, treat others like his brothers and sisters, forgive, and … not believe everything he hears. “You earn things by your merit and…
Heart disease warnings for women

| Don’t believe you’re not at risk; do believe you can improve your odds | WOMEN HAVE A MEASURE of built-in protection against heart disease — as long as their ovaries are producing estrogen. Although estrogen may delay the onset of heart disease until the sixties or seventies, women’s risk eventually is the same as…

Body, Mind & Spirit: Restoring confidence while reconstructing the breast

Reconstruction of a breast that has been removed due to cancer or other disease, in my experience, is one of the most rewarding surgical procedures. New medical techniques have made it possible for us to create a breast that can come close in form and appearance to matching a natural breast. Frequently, reconstruction is possible…
Beyond breast cancer: Looking after your health

You’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer and undergone the first phase of treatment: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy. Now comes the next step in your journey: taking good care of yourself, monitoring your health, and learning habits to promote good health for the long run. As a breast cancer survivor, healthy habits and…
Publisher’s Note: Will the Medicaid overhaul favor certain FL-based HMOs?

It seems only yesterday it was August 2, when hundreds of pages describing the Florida Medicaid overhaul were released. The goal of this overhaul is to shift Medicaid beneficiaries into “managed-care plans” by 2013 while using a heavily debated pilot program until then to set the wheels in motion. But which companies stand to benefit most…