A4M valued member Nancy Vance, MD, FAARFM, ABAARM shares insight from her professional experience in this Physician of the Month feature.

Dr. Vance entered into medicine as a nontraditional student at the age of 34 from a non-medical background. Her career shift to the medical field was spurred by a desire to learn and to then apply that knowledge in a meaningful way. Several years into her medical education, Dr. Vance began to realize that traditional medicine was not what she had anticipated it to be. Although she was enthusiastically engaged in the scientific method applied to medicine, she found the application of that method to disease-based medicine lacking. For 15 years, Dr. Vance practiced emergency medicine where she believes traditional medicine is at its best, but was well aware of the limitations during that time. As a favor for a friend, she began her own research into bioidentical hormone therapy, and that path eventually led her to A4M. During the coursework to gain board certification and an advanced fellowship from A4M, Dr. Vance was very pleased to return to a base of physiology, biology, chemistry, and genetics, and to not only understand the causes of disease but also how to prevent them.

Q: Before joining A4M, what was your medical background?

I held a contract with an independent hospital to provide 24-hour emergency physician coverage for 10 of my 15 years as an emergency physician.

Q: What anti-aging techniques have you incorporated into your practice? How did you so?

IV therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and HRT are a few of the techniques implemented at Insight to Health & Wellness.

Q: What are the benefits of practicing anti-aging medicine–as a professional, and for your practice?

Since learning the new model of medicine through A4M, I have realized wonderful benefits:

• A one-on-one relationship with my patients allows me to study each patient and offer personalized medical advice based on research.
• Since I operate with an independence from insurance regulations, I can actually treat the causes of disease rather than mask the symptoms with medications.

My patients finally feel in control of their health care; are able to receive education from a reliable source; and are enjoying an overall improved quality of life in their later years.

Q: What are the changes you see in your patients?

The major changes for patients when my methods are implemented are the need for less medication and improved quality of life.

Q: Why would you recommend Anti-Aging Medicine to your peers?

The opportunity to be trained by innovators, regain autonomy, be surrounded by people motivated to take care of patients and be on the cutting edge of medicine not only places anti-aging medicine at the forefront of medicine but also at the forefront of the medical business model.

Q: Where do you see the future of Anti-Aging medicine 20 years from now?

The inevitable fundamental shift away from disease based to preventive medicine spurred by the search for knowledge by more sophisticated and aware patients will make anti-aging medicine commonplace in the future.

A4M valued member Mark Bezzek, MD shares insight from his professional experience in this Physician of the Month feature.

Triple board certified in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Anti-Aging Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Mark Bezzek has also served as a member of a special forces unit in the U.S. Air Force, reaching the rank of Major. Through his trips to Afghanistan and Iraq, Dr. Bezzek developed the tenacity necessary to set a goal, and bring it to fruition: bringing the same laser focus and work ethic to his current work of anti-aging product development.  During his 29 years of clinical practice, Dr. Bezzek has firsthand seen the need for a fresh perspective in the approach to anti-aging. He has created 7 new products, including a multivitamin supplement, a diabetes formulation, an eye health compilation, an anti-aging skin cream, and more–all of which have received patents from the U.S. Patent Office. 

Dr. Mark Bezzek

Q: What anti-aging techniques have you incorporated into your practice? And how did you do so?

I am big believer in using bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, the use of natural alternatives for anti-aging and degenerative diseases. Right now I am actively pursuing a more prominent role in stem cell treatment. I also strongly believe in the use of nutraceuticals in a preventative fashion as it relates to age.

Q: What are the benefits of practicing anti-aging medicine?

Because the baby boomer generation is now coming into their senior years, the demand has grown tremendously. Obviously, we all want to age more gracefully, to have large amounts of energy and to be able to continue to do our daily activities well into our 90’s, all while feeling great! We also want to prevent degenerative diseases such as arthritis so that you are able to lead a mobile, pain-free, productive life.

Q: What are the changes you see in your patients?

This absolutely relates back to the benefits of anti-aging medicine. When you can help a patient regain their energy, vitality, strength, vigor, and zest for life it truly warms my heart. After spending so many years in an emergency room, to work with anti-aging patients one-on-one and see their improvement in quality of life, it is very rewarding.

Q: Why would you recommend anti-aging medicine to your peers?

For the same reason I enjoy it – for the benefits to the patients you see on a daily basis, for the ability to grow a vital and dynamic business and for the chance to help patients achieve a healthier lifestyle well into their golden years.

Q: Where do you see the future of anti-aging medicine twenty years from now?

When I first started out in anti-aging some eight years ago, this field was viewed with a considerable amount of skepticism. Now the use of nutraceuticals is becoming more standard practice and sought after by most patients. I hope that twenty years from now there will have been even more advances in research, and that being of an advanced age is not considered a time to slow down but rather a time to continue to enjoy life. After all, in twenty years, I’ll be 78 myself!

A4M valued member Kenneth Orbeck, DO, ABAARM, FAARM, shares insight from his professional experience in this Physician of the Month feature. 

Dr. Kenneth Orbeck

After experiencing a severe and life-threatening emergency, Dr. Kenneth Orbeck fought his way back to recovery while beginning to cultivate his interest in helping underserved communities. His passion for prevention and early intervention of disease grew as he experienced the consequences of terminal illness: as he began to practice functional and integrative healthcare on a personal level, Dr. Orbeck experienced a complete personal recovery of previous health problems and injuries.

Q: Before joining A4M, what was your medical background?

My medical background was in the area of family medicine. I functioned as a board certified family physician for approximately 15 years, at which time I joined the A4M and became certified by the ABAARM and a fellow in the FAARM.

Q: What anti-aging techniques have you incorporated into your practice?

I have incorporated multiple protocols outlined by the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine, as well as the Medical Metabolic Institute. These involve the functional assessment of systems-based biology and organ systems which allow the application of various detoxification protocols, hormonal optimization, nutritional optimization, and proper supplementation to enhance biochemical pathways. This results in the correction of various metabolic derangements. I have applied systems-based biology to achieve optimal health and recovery, which was not previously possible with the simple application of pharmaceutical intervention.

Q: What are the benefits of practicing anti-aging medicine?

Anti-aging medicine offers multiple benefits to both the practitioner and the patient. With the understanding of systems-based/age management medicine and the application of functional/integrative protocols, the practitioner has a variety of tools that allow optimal patient outcome. The patient benefits from an elevated state of health and the ultimate goal of total health and wellness.

Q: What are the changes you are seeing in your patients?

When applying the protocols in functional and integrative healthcare management, I often see incredible changes in the patient’s health toward optimal wellness. This involves areas including weight management, muscle mass, bone strengthening, organ system recovery, and overall vitality. Systems-based medical intervention allows organ systems to communicate, often resulting in total health and wellness. The patient simply feels and looks better.

Q: Why would you recommend anti-aging medicine to your peers?

I would highly recommend anti-aging medicine to any of my colleagues in the practice of medicine. Understanding and applying systems-based medical management, which involves different functional and integrative protocols, allows enhanced patient care and optimal recovery. Anti-aging medicine teaches one to focus on the underlying problem, not simply treating the patient’s symptoms. Understanding how organ systems communicate with each other in the evolution of disease allows the practitioner a broader sense of disease progression and the greater likelihood of early intervention.

Q: Where do you see the future of anti-aging medicine 20 years from now?

It is very difficult for me to imagine anti-aging medicine 20 years from now. After being involved in age management medicine and functional integrative protocols throughout the past seven years, I have seen this area of medicine grow exponentially. New techniques and protocols are now being based on genetic analysis and application. Understanding the concepts that involve the micro-biome and cellular genetics, age management medicine will become increasingly defined to involve more advanced testing. This will allow the practitioner early disease prediction and prevention: the patient’s health will be influenced through both nutrigenomics and epigenetics.