Comfort is a characteristic of quality care. It’s also the word Sue Schreifels used to describe her experience with The Villages Health. A retired health educator, Sue and her husband Don had been living in Minnesota when they began hunting for their retirement home.

“We looked at other places, in Arizona and that kind of thing,” she said. The couple had also vacationed in The Villages several times.

“We heard lots of good things about it,” Don said. While here, they met Villagers and talked about retirement life in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown. “We asked everyone we saw how they liked it here and they said, ‘I wish I’d have moved here sooner.’”

After sampling the community offerings and soaking up the Florida sun, Don and Sue decided to make a permanent move from Minnesota.

“We saw that everyone was here to meet people and have fun, and so were we,” Don said.

As for Sue, the features that sealed the deal were lifestyle, weather, and medical care. Initially, the couple had been seeing another local provider, but they found it difficult to communicate with the office, had trouble getting appointments, and disliked the long wait times.

Where Comfort Meets Care

Now patients of The Villages Health, Sue and Don are thrilled they made the switch.

“Service was a big deal for us, and the coordination of care,” Don said. “It’s very nice to know they’re keeping on top of things for us, and it just feels so much more convenient because everything is in one location. That’s the beauty of it. Having all the records in one place is very important.”

Sue wholeheartedly agrees: “Here, we can get in, people care, and it’s a tremendous comfort to know that you’re not just floundering out there.”

Trading Minnesota snow and ice for sunshine all year long, the Schreifels have found their ideal home, and a healthcare team that feels like family. 

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Aside from skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. As a urologist for The Villages Health, Dr. Michael Daugherty deals with the disease every day.

“It’s one of the main conditions we see,” he said. “In general, urologists are the ones that wind up taking care of prostate cancer, and we also work with oncologists and radiation oncologists.”

While cancer is an ominous word, prostate cancer is a highly treatable type.

“The five-year life expectancy across the board is around 99%,” said Daugherty. “Very few people die from it right away, if ever.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that from 2018 to 2022, 70% of cases were diagnosed at a localized stage, meaning the cancer had not spread outside of the prostate. Finding the cancer early can improve the outcome and affect a patient’s rate of survival. However, since the majority of men diagnosed don’t experience symptoms, the disease can go undetected without regular screenings.

“If a patient comes in and is already symptomatic, then usually it’s further down the road; it’s more advanced,” said Daugherty.

 Who’s At Risk for Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer can strike at any age, but the risks are greater among older men and those with a family history.

“If you have a brother or father with prostate cancer, it doubles your risk of having it, so family history is important,” Daugherty said. In addition, “If you’re African American, you typically get worse, more aggressive prostate cancer at the beginning. So those two groups of people—African Americans and family history members—are at much higher risk of getting the aggressive form of prostate cancer.”

 Prostate Cancer Screening: Tools & Types

“Typically, the way we find prostate cancer is through a blood test called the PSA, (prostate-specific antigen),” Daugherty said. The test is often done by a primary care physician, who measures the amount of a specific protein in the blood that could signal prostate cancer.

“If the PSA is elevated, (the patient) will get a referral to the urologist, and then we do an examination,” Daugherty said. “And if we feel that it’s warranted, we order an MRI of the prostate. If the MRI shows anything suspicious, the next step would be a biopsy.”

Elevated PSA is not always a result of cancer, however. Certain medications, procedures, conditions, or even vigorous activity can raise PSA levels. It’s important to discuss these factors with your health care provider to support a proper diagnosis.

 To Screen or Not to Screen: Addressing the Controversy 

The American Cancer Society says about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed in their lifetime, and the average age is about 67. Daugherty recommends men 50 and older get screened annually. However, this advice wasn’t always universally accepted and may still be met with resistance.

“About 10 years ago, (the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) recommended that men not be screened for prostate cancer, that they stop PSAs,” Daughety said. “The reason was that many men who had an elevated PSA and didn’t have prostate cancer were going through biopsies when they weren’t needed. So the biopsy was the problem, not the PSA test. (The committee) didn’t want people to have unnecessary invasive procedures.”

This fear of overdiagnosis and overtreatment then led to a surge of cancer deaths in the years that followed. A 2014 study published by experts at Hutchinson Cancer Research Center predicted a 13 to 20 percent increase in prostate cancer mortality from 2013 to 2025 due to discontinued screenings. That’s an additional 36,000 to 57,000 deaths among U.S. men.

 Prostate Cancer Treatment

Daugherty notes that once a man is diagnosed, doctors use various imaging tools to assess the cancer growth.

“We usually do a staging scan, which is like a PET scan for prostate cancer,” he said. “It shows if there’s any spread in the body, outside of the prostate.”

If the cancer is confined to the prostate, Daugherty says there are three ways it’s typically treated:

• Surveillance, which is to monitor the cancer through PSA tests, an option recommended for men with low-grade, slow-growing cancer. “We do the blood tests every four months, and we’re doing that now more than ever because around half of the guys we treat don’t need anything further,” Daugherty said.
• Surgery, which is an option for men with more aggressive prostate cancer. “We remove the prostate robotically,” he said. “It’s a simple procedure, just five little incisions and then you go home the next morning.”
• Radiation therapy, done by a specialized oncologist. “The radiation is very effective, and it’s probably the most common treatment for men between the ages of 70 and 80,” Daugherty said.

As for future treatments, cancer research has yielded some great developments. “One of the big things in the works is a vaccine,” says Daugherty. Researchers have found that the same genes involved in breast cancer (BRCA1 and BRCA2) also play a role in prostate cancer risk. Men with these gene mutations may benefit from advanced treatments and targeted therapies.

 Protecting Against Prostate Cancer: Lifestyle Changes  

Overweight men are more likely to develop advanced prostate cancer, and to die from the disease.

“The better shape you’re in, the lower your risk,” Daugherty said. “And diet makes a huge difference too. Most of the prostate cancers in the world come from countries that have a Western diet that is high in fat.” Excessive alcohol consumption, as well as red and processed meats, are also shown to negatively impact cancer risks.

If age or family history aren’t on your side, let positive lifestyle habits put the odds in your favor. Talk to your doctor about additional, individualized steps as well as PSA screenings.

 

Read The Daily Sun June healthcare report to see how TVH is working with community partners to keep our hometown healthy.

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Sarah Leahy says life is a bowl of cherries, but her husband Rob disagrees.

“It’s a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get,” he said.

When the Boston natives were shopping for new healthcare in Florida, Rob maintained this skepticism.

“When we first came down, I was kind of snickering when I heard about The Villages Health,” he said. “Sarah’s sister was raving about it and I just thought she was (exaggerating).”

It didn’t take long to convince Rob, however.

“It’s everything she said and more. The Villages Health has been truly fantastic so far. Everybody has been great,” he said.

Rob and Sarah were most impressed with the on-site labs, in-house specialty care, and overall ease and accessibility of The Villages Health’s services.

“You can’t beat the convenience,” Rob said. “If you have to go to a specialist back home, you’re fighting Boston traffic and it takes hours and hours out of your day. But here, everything has just been great.”

The couple are patients of the Mulberry Grove Care Center, which they say is just a 10-minute drive from their home. As avid golfers, they appreciate the quick appointments that allow them to spend more time swinging clubs on the course than sitting in waiting rooms at their doctor’s office.

“We’re not saying our Boston physicians were poor. It was just difficult,” Sarah said. She notes that patients were typically double booked so wait times were long and visits were less than relaxed. At The Villages Health, patients are free to chat with their care teams, ask questions and build relationships. Communication is the cornerstone of excellent care.

“I had bloodwork done on a Friday afternoon, and I got a call with the results on Monday morning,” Sarah said. “You feel so special.”

New Adventures Await

Now on their lanai, the couple enjoy wine at the rustic bar Sarah crafted from salvaged wood pallets. A sign reads: May your glass always be half full. From Massachusetts to the Sunshine State, they’ve traversed many paths in their 50-plus years together. They look forward to finding new ones.

“To be able to just get in the golf cart and go to dinner—it’s everything I had hoped for and more,” Rob said. “And top it off with The Villages Health is even better.”

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When they relocated to the area 15 years ago, it was the lifestyle that drew them, the prospect of “staying young” and having fun. All it took was a ride around The Villages for Ray and Barbara Burhop to make the move. They chose a courtyard villa, lush with greenery, vibrant potted flowers, crape myrtle, and creeping vines. It was the ideal place for the two and their terrier, Dexter.

“I can’t think of a better place to live, Barbara said.

The Burhops stay active and enjoy cruising the golf cart paths. Their upgraded life includes an upgraded health plan that supports their goals and consistently exceeds their expectations.

“We had conventional Medicare but eventually found it was more advantageous to have a Medicare Advantage plan,” Ray said. “We get a lot of the services for a lot less than what we were paying. And not only are we getting substantial savings, but we’re getting a substantial increase in the quality of our health care.”

Taking Back Their Time

In addition to golf-cart accessibility, Ray takes advantage of on-site labs. “I’m on a blood thinner that requires me to have my blood checked every 30 days, and it’s just a simple thing for me to get in the golf cart, go down to Colony (Care Center) and get my blood taken. The whole process is just exactly the way you’d like it to be.”

For Ray and Barbara, retirement life is all about ease and autonomy, the ability to plan and manage their days on their terms. “Before we came to The Villages Health, we would go see a physician and routinely wait about 45 minutes. It really gets old when you have to wait so long,” Barbara said.

Ray adds, “If I have an appointment at 9:00, a few minutes before or a few minutes after, I’m being called. It’s a standard experience – how do they do it? I don’t know.”

Barbara felt visits with their previous providers were rushed. “They didn’t give us the time,” she said. “But now we’re spoiled. The whole concept is different, and before I had to coordinate, but now I have a team. When you’re our age, you’ve seen a lot of doctors in your lifetime. You’ve been to a lot of offices, but this is really top notch.”

Working together to achieve a common goal—to keep patients healthy and heal them quickly—The Villages Health’s comprehensive care offers the Burhops peace of mind.

Unfortunately, it’s not the right fit for every family member…

As Ray cuddles Dexter on his lap, he states his only grievance. “It’s too bad The Villages Health doesn’t have veterinary care.”

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Watch Larry & Evelyn’s conversation with The Villages Health:

Where everybody knows your name, as the familiar song affirms, that’s the place you want to go. This is especially true when it comes to healthcare. After all, quality care is dependent on a care team’s ability to listen to, understand, and get to know their patients. Michigan natives Larry and Evelyn Boman have learned this truth firsthand.

The Bomans moved to The Villages in 2010. Shortly after, they became patients of The Villages Health. Not knowing what lay ahead and how cancer would invade their lives, they would see that choosing the right healthcare was foundational. The decision would alter their lives, secure their longevity, and shape their future.

A Testimonial

Nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac in The Village of Bonita, the Bomans sit side by side on the sofa in their sun-washed living room. Eager to share their testimonial, they smile and occasionally pause to fight back tears as they take turns telling the story.  For all its ups and downs, it is a tale of hope and serendipity. Evelyn wears a colorful top emblazoned with the words, “Simply blessed,” a phrase that for her, is more than mere words.

“Creekside saved my life,” she says. “I am a pancreatic cancer survivor.”  Evelyn describes how in 2023, she and Larry sat down with Nurse Practitioner Jenna Richardson. It was Larry’s visit, or so they thought.

“Jenna knew us so well that she turned to me and said, ‘Why are you so yellow?’ Now that says a lot for a nurse practitioner, for any doctor, to say that when it’s not even your appointment,” Evelyn said. “With that, (Jenna) sent me for blood work. And from there, she called for a CAT scan (medical imaging), and that’s when they saw the tumor. They truly saved my life.”

In an instant, retirement life would lose its leisure. Larry and Evelyn’s days, now cluttered with surgical appointments, became tenuous and uncertain. Having a care team they could trust, who could bring levity to their situation while offering wisdom and support, was paramount.

After a series of complex surgeries, Evelyn says she endured 11, three-day sessions of chemotherapy, and 28 rounds of radiation. “But here I am,” she asserts, smiling. “We had angels all around us.”

In addition to the Creekside Care team, Evelyn credits church friends, members of their social clubs, and their unwavering faith in God, for helping her and Larry manage.

“I would have one good week, and then I would have chemo week, and that would just knock me out.”

Resting her hand on her husband’s knee, Evelyn turns to Larry and says, “My rock, my strength. He was there for me while he was fighting his own battle too. He had seven surgeries on his eye in Gainesville and I had mine in Tampa. We got to know (interstate) 75 really well.”

Post chemotherapy, Evelyn saw her care team every month. “Dr. Wood or Jenna would see us just to check in on us, just to say, ‘How are you feeling, how is this, how is that.’ We didn’t know that even the slightest little potassium shortage was something we should think about. And they would be right on it. I would have to get booster shots.”

As the Boman’s lives now yield to its former pace, you’ll find them tending to their garden and cruising in their “Grabber Yellow” Mustang, top down to feel the breeze. In these carefree moments, they can’t help but count their blessings.

And while some might call a health crisis unfortunate, Larry sums it up differently.

“It’s a great experience to have a medical team over you, taking care of you, that looks at you like more than a number. You’re a person. And they’re just so loving, so caring… It’s incredible.”  

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