Editor’s Choice

With music blaring, a group of seven women move in tandem across a dance room inside the Pinecrest Community Center. Up front, instructor Kathy Gurdjian showcases choreography for a new line dance, which the women will perform later this year. “Line dancing is so much more than country-western,” Gurdjian says. “All you need is music

Photo by Leah Wharton Pablo Cartaya spent much of his life living in the middle. Born in Miami to Cuban parents and rasied in New York, Cartaya felt “straddled between two identities.” “I spent years of my childhood wishing my hair was blonde and my eyes were blue and that my skin didn’t tan so

Scotty Leamon is the public safety information officer for the Coconut Creek Police Department. The Coconut Creek police department employs more than a dozen veterans, including Creek native Scott Hysell, an officer who served in the Army from 2011 to 2014. While he was stationed in Afghanistan, a 250-pound homemade explosive device went off underneath

Photos by Eduardo Schneider A runner and a self-described “health nut,” Howard Mintz avoids junk food. When he does indulge, only one snack will do: popcorn. “I like popcorn, but he loves popcorn,” his wife, Lisa, says of Howard’s passion. “I enjoy it, but I don’t go crazy over it. He has the palate. He knows

Margate-Coconut Creek Fire Department Capt. Matt Whiteshield remembers hearing about a 7-year-old boy who was visiting his grandmother for Christmas a few years ago. He was upset because he wouldn’t be home for Christmas and thought Santa Claus wouldn’t be able to find him. But Whitefield made sure Santa paid him a special visit. “His

Steven Gurowitz is at the top of his game. Known for his high-end contemporary home interiors that make spaces sing for affluent clients, he and his firm, Interiors by Steven G, have nearly 120 projects in the pipeline. “We are at a stage now that we don’t have to chase,” he says. “Our business is

Profession: Actress/improvisational comedian/breast cancer activist Residence: Hollywood Age: 35 Diagnosed: September 2014, age 31 Treated at: University of Miami Health System’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center The Discovery “My mother passed away at age 63 from ovarian cancer in July 2013. After she died, I decided to get a preventative double mastectomy. I had tested for

Inside her Coconut Creek home, Irmgard Estelrrich concocts elaborate cake creations: a Louis Vuitton bag, Mickey Mouse ears, a typewriter, even a Wonder Woman-themed cake. That one might be her favorite. “The Wonder Woman cake was awesome,” Estelrrich says. “When I delivered it, they had a special place for it. It was on a pedestal.

Residence: Palm Beach Gardens Occupation: Vice president of business development, Palm Beach group, Tenet Healthcare Age: 37 Diagnosed: December 2016, age 35 Treated at: Good Samaritan Medical Center, West Palm Beach The Discovery “I went in to my [gynecologist’s] office for my annual physical, and I expected to walk out with a prescription for birth control

Residence: Tamarac Occupation: Stay-at-home mother Age: 39 Diagnosed: June 2017 Treated at: Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale The Discovery “I had a botched breast reduction surgery in 2004, which left me with monstrous amounts of scar tissue. So, I’ve always had lumps and bumps. When I got pregnant with my daughter, the lumps moved all over

Residence: Fort Lauderdale Occupation: Lawyer/sports radio host, 790 The Ticket (WAXY-AM) Age: 35 Diagnosed: November 2016 Treated at: Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa The Discovery “I was sitting on the couch with my then-boyfriend (now, fiancé). He was trying to get my attention, joking around, and he poked the side of my breast by accident. He goes,

Residence: Boca Raton Occupation: Clinical sales representative, Cranial Technologies Age: 38 Diagnosed: February 2015 Treated at: Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital The Discovery “It was the week I was due to deliver my daughter, Saylor. I felt a lump that I assumed was a milk duct, so I showed it to my