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Adapting to Change

Pandemic Doesn’t Hold Back ‘Making Strides’ Virtual Campaign by TERESA SCHIFFER With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and 2020 being a year of social distancing and heightened health and safety measures, it’s no surprise that many annual fundraising events are being postponed, canceled, or held virtually. While this doesn’t have to stop people from…
The Journey and Beyond

How One Woman’s Breast Cancer Brought Her New Perspective by TIM CRAIG photos by APRIL SPAULDING For Toshika Chambers, it was a moment that put everything in perspective. Sitting in the lobby of her doctor’s office, the Lakeland native and Haines City resident waited for the results of a biopsy. Her mind swirled. A…
Body, Mind & Spirit

Why We Avoid Routine Medical Examinations By MARY JOYE, LMHC Most of us do it, or rather don’t do it when it comes to scheduling routine medical screenings or examinations. Who really wants a mammogram, colonoscopy or other unpleasant procedures? We procrastinate though we are told and scolded by the media and experts that…

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-Related Macular Degeneration, AMD, is a leading cause of vision loss in adults over the age of 50. It destroys the macula, which is the small central area of the retina that provides detailed, central vision. With AMD, you lose the ability to see fine details, both close-up and at a distance. Due to the…
THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC: STILL A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY

By Chukwuka Okafor, MD, MBA, CIME, FAAOS On Thursday October 26, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services declared America’s Opioid Crisis a public health emergency. Drug overdose is the single most common cause of death for people under 50 years old in the United States, more so than gun fatalities and auto accidents;…
Living With Heart Failure

Congestive Heart Failure: the term conjures up visions of a death sentence. And, understandably so. The mortality from this diagnosis is more than all cancers in the United States, even if the latter diagnosis scares people a lot more. However, with right treatment and management, most patients can get better and live a better life.…