Genetics loads the gun. Our lifestyle pulls the trigger. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. VanWormer-Hartman, a board certified Chiropractic Internist, Clinical Nutritionist, and Acupuncturist wants to educate clients on healthy lifestyle options so they can take control of their health. “I created Therapeutic Health as a healing center,” says Dr.VanWormer-Hartman. “I want to open people’s eyes as to what’s available to help them.”

Perhaps educating clients on health is so important to Dr. VanWormer-Hartman because she lost her mother to ovarian cancer. “When a family member has cancer, the whole family is affected,” she says of her mother’s diagnosis. “It’s not just an individual disease. I wish I knew then what I do now”

Now is an optimal time to get screened. “Early detection is key, yet prevention should be the priority. We need to ask ourselves why the disease is occurring in the first place,” says Dr. VanWormer-Hartman.

According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer alone is a $125 billion a year market, and it’s projected to grow to $173 billion a year by 2020, which is an increase of 39 percent. “Cancer is not going away any time soon,” she adds.

Fortunately, more screening choices are available, that when used together with mammograms can aid in earlier detection. Dr. VanWormer-Hartman has added medical infrared thermography to her clinic—a camera that is FDA-approved for breast cancer screening in conjunction with mammograms. “There is no reason why you shouldn’t try thermography in addition to your current screening tools,” she adds. “There is no risk, radiation, or compression. Remember that thermography is not a substitute for mammography and should not be used by itself for breast cancer screening or diagnosis.”

In short, the medical infrared camera looks for heat patterns in the body and detects heat flow to the breast tissue. “With the breast, thermography detects new blood vessel growth which is feeding something that shouldn’t be there,” says Dr. VanWormer-Hartman.

All thermograms are read by a board-certified radiologist who sends a report back to Therapeutic Health. Patients then receive a score of TH1 to TH5. A score of TH1 indicates low risk and the client will most likely be told to come back in a year. Risk can increase as the score increases, and Dr. VanWormer-Hartman can co-manage these patients through assessing family history, lifestyle, diet, and hormone exposure. Nutraceuticals and supplementation, in addition to patient education, is an important part of her treatment plan.

Dr. VanWormer-Hartman has also created a 30-Day Bio-Transformation Program for clients that helps change diet, detoxify the liver, re-acidify the stomach, aid weight loss, and decrease their exposure to estrogens.

The benefits of thermography are impressive. It is considered a fingerprint of the breast tissue that doesn’t change over time unless there is an alteration of blood flow. There is no radiation, it is safe for all ages, and there is no pain or compression. It has been proven to assist in earlier diagnosis when used with mammography; women should not rely solely on thermography for the screening or diagnosis of breast cancer. Thermography is also well researched with more than 800 studies involving over 300,000 patients.

Dr. VanWormer-Hartman recommends a baseline breast thermography be taken for patients in their 20’s, but it can be beneficial for any age. And thermography has other uses, as well. According to Dr. VanWormer-Hartman, it can be used for musculoskeletal issues, for athletes in assessing prognosis, skin conditions, varicose veins, and more.

Therapeutic Health will offer thermography specials in October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “I’m using thermography to detect what is pulling the trigger,” says Dr. VanWormer-Hartman. “There’s so much that we can do for you.”

Dr. VanWormer-Hartman of Therapeutic Health is located at 230 E. Ogden Avenue in Hinsdale, Suite B, 630-537-0758, therapeutic-health.com.