When 64-year old Chuck Connors found out his prostate cancer was back, he waited for treatment. “The way I looked at it, this may be my last good chance of getting rid of it, so I wanted the best chance,” says Connors. He put it off to take advantage of TomoTherapy. The unique approach to delivering radiation wasn’t widely available yet in the Tampa area.

Doctor Robert Miller with WellSpring Oncology in St. Petersburg is excited to now offer the treatment. It combines CT scanning with radiation therapy. “Basically, what it allows us to do now is visualize the anatomy just prior to treatment every day,” explains Dr. Miller.

That helps doctors determine if there are any changes from treatment to treatment. Precise radiation beams improve accuracy. “Hitting the correct spot is critical obviously in curing cancer, particularly prostate which is so close to vital organs,” says Dr. Miller. He adds, “Traditional therapy was often missing the target, sometimes by a few millimeters, sometimes even a centimeter or two.”

The new approach also allows radiation to come from all angles.

Chuck says it was worth the wait.

Dr. Miller says better accuracy has improved cure rates and reduced side effects. So far, chuck is responding well. Dr. Miller hopes advancements like this encourage more men to get screened.

“Once they realize that the cure rates are now extremely high, and the quality of life is very good, it won’t alter their sex life or their overall quality of life, we’re hoping men will be more agreeable to getting screened and treated earlier,” says Dr. Miller.

For more information on WellSpring Oncology, visit . To find more information on Tomotherapy, visit .

TAMPA, FL - Danielle Collado joins Full Circle PR as a Marketing Manager. In this integral role, Danielle will be responsible for management of the marketing plans for the firm’s clients. Danielle has held previous medical marketing roles with physicians in South Florida and also New York.

Full Circle PR is a strategic growth firm for the medical industry and provides public relations, marketing, advertising and community networking to physicians and businesses in the medical field.
For more information about Full Circle PR call (727) 230-9265.

CLEARWATER, FL – With November being Lung Cancer Awareness Month, local gynecologist Dr. Jennifer Hayes of the Visionary Centre for Women is on a mission to educate her patients about the disease’s signs and symptoms. It was upon reading the latest statistics from the Lung Cancer Alliance that 1 in 17 women will develop lung cancer in their lifetimes that made Dr. Hayes realize that she had to do something.

“Smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer, which also happens to be the leading cause of cancer death in women.” said Dr. Hayes. “These statistics are unnerving. In my practice, I get to meet and care for amazing women every day and I feel that it’s my duty to educate and offer help to those at risk about this disease’s terrible symptoms.”

Dr. Hayes plans to offer smoking cessation assistance to her patients who are considering quitting such as nicotine replacement products to help with cravings or prescription medications which can double the patient’s chances of quitting.

Dr. Hayes is a Board-Certified Gynecologist and a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, International Society of Cosmetogynecology and the American Academy of Anti-Aging. She has been practicing in Pinellas County since 1991.

The Visionary Centre for Women is located at 2695 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater, in Feather Sound. For more information about Visionary Centre for Women, call (727) 540-0414 or visit them online at www.visionarycentreforwomen.com.

St. Petersburg, FL – With back pain affecting more than 65 million Americans every year, it is no wonder it is the nation’s 9th most expensive medical condition with annual costs soaring for treatment nearing $32 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Much of this expenditure comes from medical advances and technology treatments such as laser surgery, but are they truly advanced techniques or just expensive gimmicks?

“Many patients come to my office asking me if I can use a laser to help their particular cause of back or leg pain,” says local St. Petersburg Neurosurgeon, David McKalip, M.D. “The answers are both yes and no. We’ve found the medical expenses from laser spine surgery can sometime be 10 times higher than most insurance companies will pay. Yes, lasers can be used during surgery, but they are usually not needed because most of the relief that occurs during surgery for leg pain does not come from using a laser, but comes from the standard techniques neurosurgeons use all the time.”

In essence, back and leg pain sufferers often believe that laser surgery is the superior, yet, more expensive answer to relieve their pain when, in fact, relief can come at a fraction of the cost with decompression of the nerve or with no surgery at all.

There is also little evidence that the laser helps by itself without doing the standard decompression at the same time because the particular maneuvers used by surgeons using laser has nothing to do with taking the pressure off the nerve.

Last, a laser technique will also not usually make the scar smaller, since the incision needed to take out a slipped or herniated disk is the exact same size whether you turn on a laser during the procedure or not. Modern neurosurgical techniques have been using incisions that are about 1-2 inches for years. If several small “laser” incisions are required to do several levels of the spine, when added together, they would equal one longer incision on the spine.

“So, as in all things, buyer beware.” adds Dr. McKalip. “The most important thing in achieving success in spine surgery is making sure that your surgeon properly selects you to undergo the procedure based on the likelihood of helping your pain with minimal risk.”

About Dr. McKalip: David McKalip, M.D. is a Board-Certified Neurological Surgeon of the brain and spine. He is president of the Florida Neurosurgical Society and President-Elect of the Pinellas County Medical Association. He is a member of the Quality Improvement Committee of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. His practice is located at 1201 5th Avenue North, Suite 210 in St. Petersburg, FL. For more information about Dr. McKalip, contact him at (727) 822-3500 or visit www.mckalip.yourmd.com.

St. Petersburg, FL – According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. As the month-long campaign for Lung Cancer Awareness gets underway this November, local doctors at Wellspring Oncology stress the importance of understanding and identifying this disease’s risk factors and symptoms.

Tobacco smoke is the number one cause of lung cancer, but other risk factors include a family or personal history of lung cancer and exposure to cancer-causing agents in the workplace or the environment.

“As well as the risk factors, it’s also important to know the symptoms of lung cancer because early detection leads to early treatment and an increased chance of survival,” said Robert Miller M.D. of Wellspring Oncology. “Symptoms that suggest lung cancer include a persistent cough, coughing up blood, chest pain, and shortness of breath.”

The American Cancer Society estimates 215,020 new cases of lung cancer are expected to be diagnosed (114,690 among men and 100,330 among women) by the end of this year alone.

The Lung Cancer Research Foundation defines lung cancer as a malignant tumor that grows in one or both lungs that usually forms in the cells that line the airways and nearby glands. The foundation goes on to say that the changing of normal cells into cancerous cells usually happens over a period of years.

WellSpring Oncology offers the latest technological advances to treat lung cancer, such as Tomotherapy, RadioSurgery and Bracytherapy, as well as modern imaging techniques like CT and PET scans. Tomotherapy is a treatment device that is able to deliver radiation with extreme accuracy to the target area while delivering very little radiation to normal tissues. RadioSurgery with the revolutionary Cyber Knife that can be used to treat lung cancer and avoid traditional surgery. Brachytherapy is a form of radiation where the radioactive source is brought close to the target tissue rather than treating from a distance with a machine.

About WellSpring Oncology: Doctors Robert Miller, Zucel Solc and Frank Franzese opened the doors of WellSpring Oncology in spring of 2008 to provide high-end treatment in a more personal and caring environment for patients infused with influences of feng shui, and calming touches in a calming environment. The doctors at WellSpring Oncology have been practicing innovative radiation therapy since the 1970’s and formed the establishment to ensure patients have access to the latest technology available in the treatment of cancer. The doctors of WellSpring Oncology are all board-certified in radiation oncology and received their training at the top centers in the country, including MD Anderson, Memorial Sloan Kettering and the University of California San Francisco.
WellSpring Oncology is located at 6600 Sixty Sixth Street North in St. Petersburg, Florida. For more information, contact WellSpring Oncology at (727) 343-0600 or visit them online at www.wellspringoncology.org.

Media Inquiries: For more information, or to set up an interview, please call Jennifer Vickery at (727) 946-2082 or Michele Maloney at (727) 230-9265.

Tampa, FL - Thanks to local plastic surgeon Christopher J. Schaffer M.D. of the Vein Center of Tampa Bay and the “Rapid Recovery Program,” women can now plan for breast augmentation surgery with a recovery period of just 24 hours. With work and family commitments often dominating their schedules these days, most women put themselves last and do not have time for a week of downtime. However, with Dr. Schaffer’s Rapid Recovery Breast Augmentation, women do not have to worry about being away from their responsibilities for too long. Dr. Schaffer says the “Rapid Recovery Program” will ultimately become the standard of care for breast augmentation post-operative care because when women learn that they can feel great one day after their surgery, they will accept nothing less.

The “Rapid Recovery Program” combines gentle surgical techniques, early post-operative motion and exercises, and non-narcotic pain relievers that can allow patients undergoing breast augmentation to feel “fully recovered” in 24 hours rather than the normal 3-to-4 day recovery period. This spares the patient days to weeks of chest pain and rib soreness, bulky, cumbersome dressings, and the groggy, fuzzy hangover that often accompanies narcotic pain medicine. In fact, patients are encouraged to go “out for dinner” the night of surgery and many do so with little to no discomfort!

Dr. Schaffer has been offering the revolutionary concept since March of 2006 at his practice with remarkable results and incredible response from his patients. He recently joined the team at the Vein Center of Tampa Bay where he will continue to incorporate this technique. He is a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

For more than 16 years, Dr. Jeffrey A. Hunt, and the experienced staff at the Vein Center of Tampa Bay and Stunning Looks™ Medi Spa have helped patients achieve dramatic transformations. They use the very best in non-surgical procedures, including sclerotherapy and laser vein removal, to safely and effectively eliminate unsightly or painful spider veins and varicose veins and also customize cosmetic treatments using the latest technology to help patients achieve their aesthetic goals. Dr. Hunt is widely recognized for his expert, nonsurgical procedures to eliminate varicose veins. He has performed more than 110,000 vein procedures since 1992.

For more information about Dr. Jeffrey Hunt, Dr. Christopher Schaffer or the Vein Center of Tampa Bay, call (813) 282-0223 or visit them online at www.veincentertampa.com.

Tampa, FL – Like Dr. House on the hit show ‘House’, Dr. Katz is the go-to guy when it comes to advanced complications with feet; especially foot pain that is so severe it impacts the life of the patient, performance at work, ability to exercise and more. In fact, he’s only one of a handful of other podiatrists nationwide to perfect the cryosurgery procedure in order to most effectively resolve painful foot and ankle conditions.

Judy Billings of Apollo Beach had severe foot pain for the last two years. “The pain was so bad, it felt like I was being electrically shocked anytime I put pressure on my foot by standing or walking. I was limping to walk, and I used every kind of padding and special shoes available and nothing worked. I literally tried everything.”

At the age of 66, Billings also had osteoporosis in her hips and was told by doctors that she should be walking for 30 minutes per day. Her foot pain was so excruciating, she wasn’t able to fulfill doctor’s orders to maintain her health.

Finally, Billings had cryosurgery procedure done in both of her feet by Dr. Marc Katz of Advanced Podiatry in Tampa. “Now I don’t have any pain. Cryosurgery just froze the nerve, and now the pain is completely gone,” explained Billings.

Dr. Katz saw in an ultrasound how inflamed the nerve really was. He used Cryosurgery to literally freeze the nerve and eliminate pain.

“Cryosurgery is a revolutionary technology which helps to avoid more invasive and costly surgeries which have a greater risk of complication,” says Dr. Katz.

Tamara Rampino of Largo shares a similar story. “I had incredible foot pain for probably two years.” explained Rampino. “My work makes me stand on my feet for 10 to 12 hours per day and I was in so much pain. I am self-employed, and a single mother with no health insurance, so I couldn’t take a lot of time off to get treatment for my foot. Through ‘cryo’, I was able to recover in 3 days.”

“I would get up in the morning, hobble around, and ice my foot.” continues Rampino. “I never could put all my weight on my right foot. I was cranky and gained 30 pounds from not being able to be active. I used to play tennis and golf and because of foot pain could no longer do those activities. I would literally be in tears every day after work. I would cry in my car on the way home because my foot would be burning and hurting so bad.”
Now Rampino walks every morning for an hour. She also cheerfully explains her ‘shoe fetish’ in which she was never able to wear regular shoes or heels due to her foot pain. Now she owns about 60 pairs of shoes and heels.

About Cryosurgery: Cryosurgery, also known as Cryotherapy or Neuroablation, is a minimally-invasive FDA approved procedure performed by Dr. Katz in the office for pain relief. Cryosurgery or ‘Cryo’ helps provide relief from heel pain, Morton’s neuroma and other painful foot and ankle conditions by freezing the affected nerve.

The Procedure: According to Dr. Katz, the procedure takes approximately 15 minutes to perform. In a typical in-office procedure, the painful area is infiltrated with a local anesthetic, so that a probe can be introduced without discomfort. A small puncture just large enough for the probe to easily pass through is made through the skin.

Katz explains how a small diameter instrument is placed through the puncture site to create a pathway for the probe to be inserted. The probe is inserted through the puncture site to the area of pain or the nerve. The freeze cycles are then initiated. Upon completion of the freeze cycles, the probe is removed and an antibiotic ointment placed over the puncture site with a sterile dressing applied. Katz freezes the painful nerve so that pain is eliminated.

Sutures are not necessary due to the small size of the puncture. The dressing may be removed within 24 hours and postoperative discomfort is minimal.

About Dr. Marc Katz: Dr. Marc Katz is Board-Certified by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery. He is the founder of Advanced Podiatry, located at 508 S. Habana Avenue in Tampa. For more information about Advanced Podiatry or Cryosurgery, contact the practice at (813) 875-0555 or visit them online at www.tampacryosurgery.com.

Media Inquiries: For more information, or to set up an interview, please call Jennifer Vickery at (727) 946-2082 or Michele Maloney at (727) 230-9265.