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Today’s breast conserving measures

The then and now of treatment and surgery Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Each year 1.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer and the incidence of breast cancer increases with age; more than 80 percent occur above age 50 and 35 percent above age 70. There are many diagnostic…
10 questions on radiation therapy

What is radiation therapy? Radiation Therapy or Radiation Oncology utilizes high-energy radiation that is closely monitored and controlled to deliver precisely targeted treatments. These precise treatments are custom designed individually for each patient. How is the radiation delivered? Radiation can be delivered externally (similar to an x-ray machine) or internally where radioactive sources are placed…
When all signs point to prostate cancer

Q&A with Dr. Byron Hodge on cryotherapy Central Florida Health News (CFHN): How long has cryotherapy been a treatment option for prostate cancer? Dr. Hodge: Cryotherapy or freezing has been around for many years as a treatment for disease, but as far as contemporary prostate cancer, probably in the early 1990s was when there was…

Delicious food and the diabetic’s diet

It’s in the Bag Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high glucose levels caused by insufficient production of insulin. That’s a fairly simple definition for a disease that is not simple to treat. In general, and that’s all we can deal with in a short article, a balanced diet is a good starting…
Body, Mind & Spirit: Giving thanks by giving back

What it Means to be a Foster Family Foster parents provide a safe, nurturing home for children to heal. While there are currently about 150 licensed foster homes in Circuit 10, which covers Polk, Highlands, and Hardee Counties, more are needed. According to Teri Saunders, CEO of Heartland for Children here in Polk County, “That…
Editor’s Dose: More than just comfort food

Reading this article on food “made with love” for the sick really brought back some memories. As a young teenager, my mother had to undergo open heart surgery twice within four years. She has a blood disorder that causes her body to produce too many of the clot-forming platelets. Adding to that complications of…