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Survival of the fittest for the holidays

Staying Focused on the Right Routine for the Best Results In the midst of holiday shopping and parties, it’s easy to rationalize skipping or postponing your regular workout. Don’t! “Stay active. Monitor your time. Make sure you schedule those workouts,” advises Rob Ciccone, a certified fitness trainer at Anytime Fitness in Auburndale. More than ever,…
Flu shot pop quiz

What’s Your Influenza IQ? Achoo! Flu season is upon us and now is the time to take the family for their flu vaccines, whether they want them or not. As you sit in the clinic lobby waiting for your turn for the vaccine, test your knowledge of precautions, symptoms and immunizations to for the influenza…
Coping with cancer

Tips for Helping Children with a Sick Parent Why is this happening to me? Who is going to take care of me? Children are likely to ask questions like these when a parent has cancer or another serious illness. “When cancer hits a younger patient, it’s usually someone who’s in his/her late 30s or 40s…

Signs & symptoms: When your skin needs medical attention

As a surgeon who often treats and cares for patients whose ailments of the skin have gone too long without medical attention, I’d like to talk about the importance of seeing a doctor right away if you find abnormalities on the skin. I hope people can be aware that it is not only important…
Body, mind & spirit: Integrating primary and behavioral care

When you go to the doctor complaining of stomach pain, you probably don’t expect your problem to be depression. But it just may be. When you complain of headache, clumsiness, dizziness, shakiness, blurred vision, tingling around the mouth and seizures, you might expect an anxiety or bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder. You may be surprised if…
Mediterranean diet for cardiovascular health

Dr. Sean P. O’Rourke is a board-certified cardiologist at Watson Clinic. With a subspecialty in cardiovascular disease, Dr. O’Rourke often sees patients suffering from heart disease. He took the time to answer some questions about heart disease, which has a higher death rate in Polk County than in the rest of Florida. Health…