City of Hope is expanding its Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, and it’s proud to welcome endocrinologist Karen Tsai, M.D., to its team — and not just because she gave out the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 2020 awards. (Read on for that story.)
In addition to increasing the number of endocrinologists at City of Hope, the expansion also heralds another significant change — at the South Pasadena clinical network location, endocrinology care will no longer be restricted to cancer patients, but will also be available to the public.
“We are hoping to serve the South Pasadena community to meet their endocrinology care needs and at the same time push the forefront of clinical research for diabetes and endocrinology,” said department chair Ping Wang, M.D., who spearheaded the expansion. “We are excited to be able to offer patients in this region new opportunities to participate in leading-edge clinical trials for diabetes and endocrine tumors.”
One reason for this significant change is that there’s a greater need for endocrinologists than ever before. Tsai, who has published papers on the distribution of medical care, explained what’s creating this increased demand.
“The need for more endocrinologists is partly due to our increased lifespans,” she said. “As a result of living longer, more patients are developing endocrine disorders like diabetes and osteoporosis.”
In addition, some of the new targeted immunotherapies — which have been so successful in treating and curing cancer — can sometimes affect the endocrine system.
“These cancer treatments have made a huge difference in terms of life expectancy, morbidity and mortality,” she said. “But there are thyroid disorders that can emerge from cancer therapies like immune checkpoint inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and this is my particular focus.”
The expansion is also allowing obstetricians and gynecologists in the area to refer people with polycystic ovary syndrome, conditions related to fertility treatments, and gestational diabetes, a condition in which, during pregnancy, the body cannot make enough insulin.
Fostering Long-Term Patient/Doctor Relationships
One aspect of medical care that’s important to Tsai is the relationship she develops with her patients.
Her interest in medicine began when, as a child, she had open heart surgery to repair an atrial septal defect, a hole in the heart wall. She became fascinated by science and medicine and at first thought she’d become pharmacist, like her mother. But in college, she realized that it didn’t really suit her.
She wanted a career that would allow her to have personal involvement with the people she was helping. She decided to become a physician — and that human connection is also why she chose endocrinology.
“Diabetes, osteoporosis, thyroid disorders — these are medical conditions that sometimes go on for a lifetime,” she said. “And there was a light bulb moment when I saw how gratifying it would be to have this kind of long-term, personal relationship with patients that can deepen over a long period of time.”
One area of particular interest to Tsai is thyroid conditions, and at City of Hope she’s excited to be working with its notable interdisciplinary team of health care providers to take on even the most challenging and unusual cases.
Going Above and Beyond
Tsai sees patients three days a week at the main campus in Duarte and once a week in South Pasadena. But even if you never had a sick day in your life, you’ve probably already seen her — on the 2020 Emmy Awards.
To honor her for her volunteer work at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her brother, Kevin Tsai, M.D., were asked to present that year’s award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
It was the year COVID-19 first hit, and there was a dangerous scarcity of personal protective equipment for medical staff. Tsai, then in her internal medicine residency, saw firsthand how dire the situation was and decided to do something about it.
She created a nonprofit company, DonatePPE.org, which distributed more than 4.5 million masks nationwide — all while working the grueling hours of a medical resident.
And that’s not all she did to help out during those difficult times. Seeing the distress the pandemic was causing children, she was the consultant for a children’s book, “Monster Dance,” written to ease their fears.
This can-do approach is also what gave her, as a teenager, the opportunity to work at a lab at Loma Linda University. She was still in high school, so you might think the job was mostly washing out test tubes. But no. She was performing gel electrophoresis, a process that separates DNA, RNA and protein molecules, and creating mutated DNA compounds for the researchers.
Pretty unusual achievements — but if you suggest there’s something special about her, she'll earnestly insist she is the most ordinary of people. “It’s just if there's something that needs to be done, I can’t just sit by. I have to do it.”
The child of Taiwanese immigrants, Tsai was born and raised in Arcadia, California, but speaks fluent Mandarin. She’s delighted to be serving the San Gabriel community where she grew up, and not only has a new job but a brand new son, just 6 months old.
“It’s been a whirlwind, but I can tell you for a fact that I’m super blessed,” she said. “I’m hopeful for what the future of medicine holds, and the difference I can make for patients at City of Hope.”