Doctor bridges East and West medicine

by Karen Kinney

A 70Ðyear-old woman with chronic allergies and back pain patiently tries every remedy her Western doctor gives to her, still, she finds no relief. Because he has no further ideas for treatment, the doctor refers the woman to long-time Richmond resident, Dr. Patricia Tsang, who specializes in both Western medicine and Eastern Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

After three to six months of treatment through acupuncture and Chinese herbs, the woman's constant symptoms disappear but something else happens: The patient starts noticing her circulatory problems are also clearing up. Tsang's herbal prescription not only cured the patient's ailments but the herbs have helped abate the symptoms of her peripheral arterial disease - an unexpected bonus.

"I discovered the herbs work similar to aspirin and help dilate small blood vessels," Tsang said. "The woman went from walking only three blocks to three miles."

San Francisco is a Mecca for both Chinese and Western medicine solutions, so how does one decide which approach works best? This is a question Tsang has spent much of her life answering.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in San Francisco, Tsang has lived in the Richmond District for more than 30 years. She received her M.D. from UCSF in 1963, studied TCM at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1981, and then continued studying under the guidance of faculty member Dr. Yat Ki Lai, L.Ac., O.M.D. Tsang has effectively treated patients in her Laurel Village practice using an integration of both Eastern and Western methods for more than 17 years - long before anyone else.

Tsang says her passion for fusing Eastern and Western medicine comes from studying with Dr. Lai. Back in 1981, she was the subject of ridicule among her peers for wanting to merge the two medical worlds together.

Most books written by Eastern doctors don't make any sense to a Western reader and it takes a long time to make sense of the strange sounding terms.

"I think it's important to bridge the communication gap and find a common language," Tsang says. "Chinese medicine should not be couched in mysticism."

According to Tsang, a growing number of patients seek traditional Chinese medicine, usually after trying all Western solutions first. Patients often encounter communication gaps, however, where the Chinese medical practitioner uses strange-sounding ancient terminology, which the patient does not understand. So, how can East meet West?

Tsang believes she has the answer. Her book, "Optimal Healing: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine," clarifies much of the common language used by TCM practitioners.Tsang uses a scientific viewpoint to explain TCM terminology in a way that anyone can understand and she emphasizes that Western medicine deals with specific diseases, while TCM is more observational and uses terms that are more than 3,000 years old and have no scientific background.

Tsang does not favor one method. Retired now, she says that while practicing medicine she initially used Western medicine. If the patient showed no improvement, she integrated acupuncture and herbs - usually for six months. Tsang says when choosing Eastern or Western medicine she has to consider what is most effective, weigh the risk-to-benefit ratio and consider what stage the disease is in.

"Western treatment is more specific and analytical," Tsang says. "When I use Eastern medicine, I focus on balancing the body and giving it strength to fight the disease by itself. A more functional approach."

Tsang also believes integration of the two would cut down the cost of health care. She believes Western medicine has far fewer remedies for early stage diseases or people "who aren't very sick to begin with." TCM teaches that illness begins with some dysfunction in the body and strives to restore the patient's weakened function to regain health. Tsang states that herbs for common colds would prevent bronchitis and if acupuncture or acupressure were prescribed for back pain, this would lead to fewer MRI's being ordered and surgeries performed.

"In the past decade, the insurance industry has begun to recognize that some forms of complementary care obviates far more expensive treatments, such as surgery, and are adding them to its covered benefits. It is time for government-sponsored insurances to awaken to this fact," she said.

These days Tsang spends her time promoting her book and giving lectures to both Eastern and Western patients and doctors on how to have safer, cheaper and more effective treatments.

At a recent lecture at the Chinese American Church in Berkeley, she spoke to an audience comprised mostly of older people who seemed very enthusiastic about the idea of integration. Their main concerns were finding relief for things like arthritis, high cholesterol and blood circulation. Tsang told the audience that ginger was a great remedy for arthritis and nausea and it also helps with digestion, with no side effects.

Tsang says her goal is to get her treatments and research validated, therefore making patient treatment better and more cost effective.

"I just want to give guidelines to be sure Eastern can work with Western," Tsang says, "since they both have so much to offer."