He manages a career, keeps a schedule, takes care of his family. He exercises when he can, watches what he eats, mostly. By most visible measures, he takes care of himself. He just hasn't been to the doctor in a few years. Nothing feels acutely wrong — and that, it turns out, is exactly the problem.

June arrives on the South Shore the way it always does — the harbor fills up, the beaches draw their first crowds, and summer feels like a break from health concerns. It isn't. Ticks, heat, UV exposure, and chronic conditions drift quietly at work all season long.