SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Find a ‘new you’ for the New Year
As we move into a new year, Southern
Laser Medical Spa & Healing Arts is
ready to help get your 2022 off to a happy
and healthy start. Whether you’re treating
yourself to aesthetic procedures like
laser hair removal, vein treatments, or
body contouring or just getting your body
moving with Yoga or ballroom dance, find
a “new you” for the new year at Southern
Laser.
Through its Medical Spa and Healing
Arts Center, Southern Laser promotes
optimal health by providing the highest
quality and personalized care. Since its
start in 1998, it has evolved into a multiservice
organization offering various
services aimed at improving the health
and well-being of the community.
The spa is locally owned and operated
by medical professionals. The credentialed
80 LAKE OCONEE LIVING | WINTER 2021
staff at Southern Laser has more than 25
years of aesthetic experience and is dedicated
to your health, your safety, and your
experience.
The Spa’s medical-grade skin-care products
enhance the natural health and beauty
of the skin and provide and are used in
specialized facial treatments, peels, and
microdermabrasion & Dermaplaning. Botox
and injectable fillers are also available
from our staff plastic surgeon.
In addition to hair removal, our laser
treatments address many areas including
sunspots, scars, rosacea, spider veins and
vascular lesions.
Professional massage therapists offer
several types of massages that are individually
customized to meet the health and
medical needs of each client.
Our Healing Arts Center offers programs
to
benefit your
physical (flexibility,
strength,
cardio) and
mental (stress
reduction, focus)
needs. Yoga is
an exciting way
to increase flexibility,
enhance
The team at Southern
Laser has more than
25 years of aesthetic
experience and is
dedicated to your health,
your safety, and your
breathing
technique, and
get your body
experience.
moving toward a
healthier more energetic you in the coming
year!
Call or come by to learn more about
why “Serving you is our Pleasure.”
By Dr. Cesar A. Gumucio,
MD, FACS,
Gumucio Plastic Surgery
Being in practice for
over 30 years, I have
had the benefit of taking
care of many wonderful
patients whose sizes and
shapes are as diverse as their personalities.
None, as a group, has had a more lasting
impact on my life as my breast cancer
patients and their families. Throughout
my years, they have imparted wisdom and
insight that we can all intertwine with our
daily lives.
Embrace the Silence
In our hectic, multi-media driven days,
one does not often experience complete
silence. We may have moments where
we are away from the stimulus of others,
but we tend to fill our space instead
with music, podcasts, audiobooks – never
truly experiencing silence. In fact, it has
been said that to make someone intensely
uncomfortable, place them in complete
silence. In these uncomfortable places of
silence, true growth occurs. We need to
embrace the silence and reflect upon our
lives and what steps we can take each day
to make a difference.
Be Present
Human beings are inherently social
creatures. We long to share experiences
and emotions with one another. Laughing
together, playing board games, enjoying
dinner, holding a hand or just being a
shoulder to cry on, we long to share these
experiences. We equate joy as something
to share but tend to keep our pain and sadness
to ourselves. Be there for yourself and
one another – embrace joyful times and
empower difficult ones. Often a quiet presence
is monumentally more powerful.
Focus on the Important
Success has several definitions depending
on the individual. Many tend to see material
items as measures of success – lake
houses, mountain cabins, dream vacations,
paid college tuitions, etc. We often set
our priorities accordingly to obtain these
successes. My patients have taught me that
these “measures” are skewed, and priorities
should be shifted. The truly important
measure of a successful life is one’s family
and friends – they are the priority that
should be maximized!
Think Outside of Oneself
When faced with a daunting task or
diagnosis, one often becomes introspective.
Asking questions such as “Why me?”
“What did I do?” “What could I have
done differently?” While these questions
could create a downward spiral, we should
instead start to look outside ourselves and
begin the healing process. Then we can
begin to accept and normalize our routine
while focusing on our family and friends
– and how we can help others on similar
journeys.
Through our patient’s journeys, they find
an inner strength that they never thought
they had. They complete their treatments
and emerge on the other side completely
different people. Their outlook on the
world has forever changed. A rose takes
on a beauty never noticed before. A sunset
becomes more vibrant. The laughter of
loved ones takes on a new significance.
Many hidden positives blossom through
this process, and I greatly enjoy seeing my
patients emerge triumphant.
Life lessons from survivors