Pasco photo calendar for sale
Gulfside Hospice’s annual 15-month calendar is now for sale at all its thrift shop locations.
The calendar features photos taken exclusively in Pasco County to highlight the area that the organization serves and its communities.
The calendar is a product of a photo contest that include 140 submissions of events, places, landmarks and wildlife.
This year’s cover features a special tribute to Gulfside’s patient-centered care, one of Gulfside’s three core values.
The cost of the calendar is $5, and all proceeds help to support Gulfside patient care and bereavement services.
All five Gulfside thrift shops are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For addresses and phone numbers, visit Gulfside.org.
Safe Haven license plates
The State of Florida has approved the A Safe Haven for Newborns specialty license plate, the revenue of which will help to fund the many programs Safe Haven offers to girls and women in distress.
The cost of a presale voucher by check is $33; by credit card, $34.03.
Upon meeting the presale quota of 3,000 vouchers, the tax collector’s office will send a voucher to the buyer to exchange for the specialty plate. The process can take two months to four months.
The new tag will be available at all vehicle registration offices across the state, once the quota is reached.
For information, visit ASafeHavenForNewborns.com/ways-to-help/licenseplate/.
An eye-opening tour
The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club visited and took part in informational tours of Quantum Leap, a therapeutic riding facility in Odessa. The facility provides equine-assisted adaptive therapy for children and adults with physical and mental disabilities, wounded veterans, children with cancer and military service members. The farm currently is home to 12 horses, two donkeys and three goats, all of which are trained therapy animals. Carol Moore and Jan King present a check to two staff members/trainers at Quantum Leap. The woman’s club looks forward to supporting Quantum Leap in the future. Visit gfwclutzlandolakeswomansclub.org OR its Facebook page, for more information.
New blood test for cancer
HCA Florida Trinity Hospital will implement a programmatic “liquid-first” biopsy approach to molecular testing of lung cancer patients as recommended by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, according to a news release.
One the most useful blood tests has been the assessment of PD-L1 status of lung cancer, which allows for better personalized therapy, the release said.
The integration of Circulogene, a novel liquid biopsy, with an only plasma PD-L1 RNA marker will help determine the best course of treatment in lung cancer patients.
“Adopting a liquid biopsy with a PD-L1 marker will help us determine which patients will benefit from immunotherapy,” said Dr. Mathew Ninan, thoracic surgeon and director of Thoracic Surgery and Lung Nodule Program at HCA Florida Healthcare, in the release.
“Should the liquid biopsy results reflect actionable or driver DNA mutations or RNA fusions, then patients can begin a personalized treatment plan with the goal of better outcomes and survival rates,” said Ninan.
