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By LAURA FRAZIER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2007

BRANDON - By the time she hit 40, Cindi Barsa was 30 pounds overweight, perpetually exhausted and aching all the time. Two minutes on a treadmill was all she could manage, and keeping up with her children was impossible.

'I was so young, but I just couldn't do anything. I was just a mess,' Barsa said.

During the next five years, a whirlwind of doctors diagnosed Barsa with a slew of autoimmune diseases: lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. Specialists prescribed various medications and treatments, but relief was elusive, she said. Doctors told her she would have to learn to live with the progressively worsening symptoms.

The Brandon woman turned to alternative treatments to address her weight gain, pain and fatigue with success. Feeling better this summer than she had in years, she opened Oasis Center for Wellness & Beauty in Brandon. Barsa's personal wellness journey motivated her to help others fight the symptoms of autoimmune disorders, weight gain and aging.

Services and treatments offered at Oasis are not a replacement for conventional medical care, Barsa said. She spent two decades in traditional healthcare management, and her husband, John Barsa, is a physician who specializes in pain management.

'I had access to the best medical care available, and I was determined to get relief from the pain and exhaustion. Traditional medical care is very important, but sometimes it isn't enough,' Cindi Barsa said.

Physicians and staff members at Oasis focus on helping clients re-examine their lifestyles, detoxify their bodies, practice proper nutrition and take advantage of the latest technologies designed to rejuvenate the body and skin.
Barsa said there is nothing mysterious about the alternative treatments she offers, and she is careful not to tout them as a cure-all.

Five years after her initial diagnoses, she said she is not cured.

'I still have the diseases, but alternative treatments have dramatically altered the way I've progressed,' she said. 'My endurance and stamina level are way up. Now I can run.'

Wellness treatments offered at the center, such as lymphatic drainage therapy and detox and nutrition supplements, complement aesthetic procedures such as Botox injections, body sculpting and microdermabrasion. The results, Barsa said, can be more than skin deep.

Any woman 'of a certain age,' Barsa said, can benefit from wellness and anti-aging treatments. Once you feel better, you want to look better, too, she said.

'When you get to middle age, you go through a stage in your life where you're changing, and you think you're not the hip chick anymore,' she said. 'It's all about getting back to where you feel good about yourself.'
OASIS CENTER FOR WELLNESS & BEAUTY

WHERE: 204 Oakfield Drive, Brandon

WHAT: Alternative wellness, weight-loss programs and clinical beauty treatments

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to noon Saturday; by appointment only Friday and Sunday

INFO: (813) 684-2222 or go to www.oasiswellnessandbeauty .com

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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