Hometown News and Views

By Judy Wilson
Pelican staff
Deerfield Beach – Hillsboro Beach restaurant tycoon Wayne Lobdell discovered that the cure for his medical condition combined traditional medicine with some new approaches. He was so grateful that he gave the UHealth Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center $500,000 to develop a series of lectures and workshops focusing on mind-body wellness.
The first in the series was held this month at UHealth’s Deerfield Beach location in Newport Center. It dealt with rheumatology, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis. Along with the latest medical information presented by Dr. Christine Savage, attendees learned about nutrition, exercise and lifestyle changes that can positively affect their disease. They also got a free lunch, in this case samples from a cooking demonstration.
“Our integrative health team is meant to complement our medical team,” said Diana Edwards, who is coordinating the lecture series endowed by Lobdell who also gave another $100,000 to Sylvester for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphoma research.
The lectures will be given the second and fourth Tuesday of each month beginning at noon. In February, on the 12th and the 26th, the topic will be the latest advances in treating cardio-vascular disease. Although, UHealth Sylvester is a cancer treatment center, the Lobdell Mind-Body Wellness Program will cover a broader range of topics, all kinds of chronic diseases and conditions, Edwards said.
“Knowledge is power. You have to be your own best advocate so that if, God forbid, something happens in the future you will be informed ,” Edwards said. “Holistic approaches can optimize the medical outcomes.”
“It is an approach that will begin to address the physical, emotional and social needs of all our patients,” said M. Beatriz Currier, M.D., Medical Director of the Courtelis Center and Cancer Support Services at Sylvester, and Chief of the Division of Consultation Psychiatry.
Spearheaded by Currier, the Lobdell Mind-Body Wellness Program integrates traditional medicine with  complementary medical techniques, including acupuncture, massage therapy, yoga, tai chi, and herbal medicine therapy, and psychological therapies that include meditation, guided visual imagery, progressive muscle relaxation and cognitive behavior therapy.
Ashwin Mehta, M.D., assistant professor of clinical and hospital medicine and Medical Director of the Sylvester Integrative Medicine Service, will provide integrative medicine evaluations and interventions with a team of clinicians trained in mind-body medicine. “It really helps cancer patients. Using an individual approach, we add nutrition, exercise, sleep tips, meditation, and supplements. We get good results,” Dr. Mehta said.
The service, in place for about a year, is open to all and Dr. Mehta encourages it for well people to improve their health and prevent disease. The addition of the luncheon lectures will empower the community with information they need, he added.
“Don’t confuse integrative medicine with alternative medicine,” Dr. Mehta said.  “We are not throwing out medicine. In conjunction with medicine, we provide support for symptoms and a plan for living. We target inflammation, strengthen the immune system. Integrative medicine is the medicine of the future. There is a shift to prevention, an emphasis on using wellness models to address chronic conditions. Anything else is incomplete.”
At the lecture series held Jan. 8, Lobdell, 71, who has conquered his gastric disease said, “I think the mind and body wellness aspect of it was an important part of it, and I feel that mind and body wellness is not just for when you’re not feeling well, but it can prevent you from feeling bad . . . preventive care is very beneficial.”
Lobdell’s recovery began after he was directed to Dr. Joseph Rosenblatt, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, UHealth, who told him, “Ok, we’re going to get a team of doctors and we’re going to make you feel better.”    
After a few months, Lobdell said, he was better, thanks to Currier, Mehta and the team of UHealth specialists who worked to address his physical and emotional needs, and to what he calls “the keys” to maintaining his good health: a correct diet and exercise regimen, counseling, yoga, meditation, massage and acupuncture.
“I have survived tough times and I felt the need to give something back. I donate to a teaching restaurant in Michigan and in Florida I was waiting for something to come along. This seemed like it. The word hasn’t spread yet, but what could be better? A free lunch and information about your health.”
A self-made millionaire, Lobdell owns 72 Taco Bells and Pizza Huts headquartered in Traverse City, MI.  Living seven months in Florida, Lobdell now runs three miles every other day, exercises and meditates 15 minutes daily, plays golf and has found a new interest, horse racing.
“I’m not in it to make money,” he said this week. “My dream would be to have a horse in the Kentucky Derby.”  He has hired the leading trainers in the game and names his horses after his grandchildren. One ran this week at Gulfstream.
Lobdell doesn’t see the irony in owning fast food restaurants and his gastric complaints. Although he is no longer involved in the daily operations of his food chains, he says Taco Bell does offer lighter fare. His sons also own various restaurant outlets and the industry Lobdell said “more and more is cognizant of providing healthy choices. Like in any restaurant or grocery store, it is a matter of selecting the right options,” he said. “I eat at Taco Bells.”
Lobdell has written his memoir, “Climb from the Cellar,” and his wife presented both Currier and Mehta with copies, thanking the physicians “for making Wayne as good as new.”
To attend the mind-body wellness lectures, reserve with Edwards at 954-698-3606 or by email at dedwards@med.miami.edu. Seating is limited.