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It Takes a Village

Breast Cancer Survivor Nikita Lyons Smith Shares Her Story of Hope and Support by RYAN MILEJCZAK photo by JESSICA McDONALD Nikita Lyons Smith has a story that would inspire anyone. She boasts many accomplishments over her 20-year pharmacy career, including opening Winter Haven’s Mercy Pharmacy and becoming Winter Haven’s first African-American female independent pharmacy owner.…
Pop Quiz! Make Sense of the Mammogram Myths

Mammograms are a fact of life for the majority of women as The American College of Radiology recommends annual screening mammograms for all women older than 40 as a necessary breast cancer screening. Despite the necessity of mammograms, there is a lot of incorrect information circulating about them. Get the facts by taking our quiz…
New Face at Polk State

Inaugural AdventHealth Dean of Nursing Talks About Making Difference by K. MICHELE TRICE A $1.7 million endowment to the Polk State College Foundation sparked the creation of an AdventHealth Dean of Nursing position at Polk State College. Dr. Deleise Wilson, who has three decades of clinical, academic, and leadership experience, is the first to serve…

Healthy Cook: The truth about ‘negative calorie’ foods

Some things just sound too good to be true. You lose more calories eating a food than the food has in it. That’s called “negative calories” and it sounds like digestive snake oil to me. It would be died-and-gone-to-heaven for dieters. But there is a modicum of truth in it. Some cold foods that are…
Ask a Nurse: Popping pain pills?

Americans make up ~4.6 percent of the world’s population, yet have been consuming 80 percent of the global opioid supply and 99 percent of the global hydrocodone supply1! According to the CDC in 2008, 14,800 died of an opioid overdose… more than heroin and cocaine COMBINED2. Opioids like morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, and fentanyl…
PCMA Letter: Don’t let an active lifestyle be a chore this summer

It’s fairly common amongst the general population to want to live a long, healthy, and happy life. Remaining physically fit is imperative to this way of life. Staying in shape helps you live longer and prevents illnesses. This is why the doctors of the Polk County Medical Association (PCMA) bring you the fitness edition this…