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Vaccination, Early Detection Key to Fighting Cervical Cancer

by TIM CRAIG Sponsored by Central Florida Health Care January is Cervical Cancer Awareness month, and Central Florida Health Care is spending the month reminding women (and men!) that there are two key factors in fighting this disease: vaccination and early detection. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 14,480 new cases…
Pop Quiz: Think You Know Thyroid Disorders? Think Again

Weight gain and weight loss are common occurrences in any adult’s lifetime, but unexplained weight fluctuations can be the result of a thyroid problem. Issues with your thyroid can have long-lasting side effects for your health beyond just weight loss or weight gain, so it’s not an issue that you want to ignore. January is…
Fostering a Resolution

Fitness Club Tailors Training to Individual Needs by PAUL CATALA Robin Chaddick of Lakeland has lost 6 percent of body fat since beginning a regular exercise routine and diet in April. She says the guidance, expertise, and patience of the staff at the Lakeland Athletic Club played a key role in her success so…

Editor’s Dose: Tips for minimizing back-to-school stress

IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, then come early July you were already thinking about preparations for the new school year. Parents and children in the community this year are getting ready extra early because Polk County public schools moved up their calendar by one week — day one of school is August 15.
Making the choice to breastfeed

THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH in Polk County (DOH-Polk) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) recognize August as Breastfeeding Awareness Month. This is a wonderful time of year to promote breastfeeding as a vital health activity and discuss the health benefits breastfeeding provides. Although every woman has their own…
Editor’s Dose: Keeping kids’ bodies and minds active this summer

WHEN I FIRST had the twins, my mom would say, “Have a schedule for them, or they’ll have a schedule for you.” Basically, she was cautioning that I’d better keep those little minds and bodies active, or chaos would inevitably ensue. Being a mother of eight children, I think she was speaking from personal experience.…