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Pop Quiz! Do You Know What Is — and Isn’t — a Service Animal?

Writer Thom Jones said, “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them,” so it’s no surprise that dogs can also be trained to help people with disabilities. Service dogs helping the blind have been around for hundreds of years, but did you know there are also service dogs that help owners with…
The Frazzle Factor

Exploring the Link Between Stress and Heart Health by REBEKAH PIERCE If you’ve ever felt like stress is something that’s all in your head, think again. It’s likely doing much more than just making you feel overwhelmed. Chronic stress has a sneaky way of impacting your entire body, and those impacts aren’t just limited to…
Survivor’s Story

Alex Santiago Learns Family Is at the Root of His Heart in More Ways Than One by REBEKAH PIERCE “Listen to your heart.” That’s the advice given to practically everyone these days, it seems, from young entrepreneurs thinking about launching their own startups to high school students attempting to choose a college major. But for…

Pancreatic Cancer update

National Research and Local Alliance Efforts Keep Hope from Being Blown Away John Rodda was sitting to dinner with his wife, Becky, when she noticed his eyes were bright yellow. Although he’d had a horrible stomachache a couple of weeks earlier, they didn’t realize it was anything serious. Unknown to them, the Lakeland-based commercial contractor had…
Healthy Cook: Keep calm and cook on

There is too much going on . . . the holidays to cook for . . . Grandma and the bratty cousins to buy for . . . the new puppy will probably knock the tree over (if the cat doesn’t climb it first) . . . Take a deep breath, go relax in a…
PCMA Letter: Working for your health

The Polk County Medical Association (PCMA), its members and affiliates, are constantly working for the betterment of health in the community. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates once said, “Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.” At the PCMA, we take the opportunity to heal pretty seriously, which…