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“I may not be running into burning buildings to save lives anymore, but if I save one or two by encouraging them to quit smoking, that’s a lot.”

Brian Cara says his reasons for putting down ci******es once and for all were personal. While he was having a coffee and cigarette at his home, his beloved bichon frise, Snow Buddy, began wheezing beside him. In the next room, his fiancée, now wife, Jadeen, was coughing.

Cara realized he was endangering the lives of those he loved most and his fear is supported by statistics. According to the American Lung Association , secondhand smoke causes approximately 7,330 lung cancer and 33,950 heart disease deaths annually.

Cara is a retired police chief and a retired deputy fire chief. He now works as a supervising dispatcher with EMS in Hazleton, and decided not only to stop smoking, but to help others do the same.

“I realized I had no right to put other people’s lives at risk because of my bad habit, and I’ve been helping friends and colleagues come to the same conclusion,” says Cara. “I may not be running into burning buildings to save lives anymore, but if I save one or two by encouraging them to quit smoking, that’s a lot.”

He signed up for BeneQUIT, where counseling helped him maintain his decision to stay smoke free. The program also provided him with tools and resources to share.

Brian Cara
Night Shift Supervisor, EMS Dispatch

Read moving stories here: https://bit.ly/3U9Dd7x
Help your employees quit: https://bit.ly/4axZkKH

***coCessation

Eric B. Lebby, MD, was pressed for time but wanted to be proactive about his health. He turned to Lehigh Valley Health Network's Executive Health Program to take control and fit checkups into his busy schedule.

“I must admit I don’t always take the greatest care of myself, as we physicians are always focused on taking care of others,” Dr. Lebby says. “I hadn’t seen a primary care physician for 10 to 12 years and that was the impetus to say, ‘It’s time to do this.’”

As it turns out, the decision was critical, and his comprehensive checkup was completed in one day.

Dr. Lebby went through a full medical itinerary that was set up with his specific health needs in mind, which included exams, tests, and imaging. He met with a primary care clinician, board-certified health and wellness coach, and a registered dietitian. At the end of the day, he sat down with an Internal medicine physician who reviewed his results from all the testing that was done.

For many Executive Health Program clients, this is where the story ends. But there is more to Dr. Lebby’s story.

His prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test revealed an elevated number.

“At first, we thought it might be an infection and the doctor put me on antibiotics,” Dr. Lebby says. “But the PSA didn’t go down. So, I went to a urologist. I had an MRI of the prostate and then a biopsy.”

The biopsy revealed Dr. Lebby had prostate cancer.

“I essentially owe the Executive Health team my life,” he says. “I might not have seen a doctor for another five years. Then, five years later, it might have been a much different ending."

LVHN’s Executive Health Program isn't just for executives - it's for anyone and everyone. Learn more about Dr. Lebby and the program here:
https://bit.ly/3P0wrgi

"This is the year I will eat healthier."
"I am going to cut back on spending this year."
"I will go out to eat less and cook more this year."

Have you said those exact same things or similar? We want to help you stay on a budget and start the new year on a healthier note by sharing these great recipes. https://bit.ly/41lU60x

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