In 1983, Wilhelmina Blank was one of the first massage therapists in the area. Now, Blank, the founder of the Pennsylvania Myotherapy Institute, says she sees massage therapists and day spas popping up all over the place.

Over a sushi lunch in South End recently, I watched a health care network that gave me hope. A dozen Charlotte-area practitioners -- including two pediatricians, a pediatric nurse, a homeopath, two naturopaths, an acupuncturist and a "core body healer"

Q. I'd like to know how your work as a naturopathic doctor has generally been received by Hawai'i's conventional medical establishment. Is alternative medicine more accepted now than it used to be?

Physician, author, speaker, researcher and consultant, Dr. Marty Rossman, creator of the Guided Imagery for Self-Healing Book and CD set and founder of The Healing Mind will appear on the July 9th Access to Health Experts teleseminar series.

According to a recent Guardian survey, women (58%) were more likely than men (47%) to find paying for healthcare premiums and out of pocket costs a challenge. But women (51%) are more likely than men (42%) to have done some retirement healthcare planning.