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Pop Quiz: Germs 101—A Crash Course for Parents

Back-to-school season is upon us, and that means your child’s chances of coming down with an illness is greatly increased. While schools are centers of learning, they are also breeding grounds for all manner of germs. However, there are ways to lessen your child’s chances of coming down with something, having to miss school due…
Tackling Mental Health Together

Establishing the West Central Florida Mental Wellness Coalition Recognizing the record number of suicide rates, substance use and opioid deaths, nearly 30 local organizations have joined forces to develop a regional mental health initiative. On June 20, BayCare CEO and President Tommy Inzina and participating leaders from other hospitals, behavioral health providers, law enforcement, government…
Working Like a Dog

Reading with Bonnie the Therapy Dog by RACHEL CHRISTIAN Cassandra Banning and Bonnie, her 10-year-old shih tzu therapy dog, have been bringing joy and happiness to people in the Plant City area for almost six years. The pair can be spotted across town visiting nursing homes, hospitals, and even Bruton Memorial Library. Unlike service animals…

Healthy Skin: Not forsaking the most common cancer

CAN YOU NAME the most common form of cancer? For your health (and information!), the answer is, by far, skin cancer. The American Cancer Society maintains that of the main types of skin cancer, 3.5 million basal and squamous cells skin cancers will be diagnosed and over 73,000 cases of the more deadly melanoma will…
Healthy Smiles: Cautions for the smoker on the increased use of e-cigarettes

ACCORDING TO RECENT studies, oral cancer rates among women and young people have increased! Although a variety of factors are to blame, the increasing use of e-cigarette products could be associated with the rise in cases.
The Heart of the Matter: New study gives women one more good reason to get their mammograms

AS A CARDIOLOGIST who sees many female patients, I encourage all of them to receive regular mammograms in order to take preventive action and precautions against breast cancer. However, a recent study has reported that the breast arterial calcification (BAC) score — which is used in standard digital mammography to measure the number of blood…