A new doctor at the Lawton Community Health Center, who specializes in glands and hormones, is hoping to help people in southwest Oklahoma get the treatment they need without having to leave the area. Doctor Oscar Castro is an endocrinologist.

“We deal with diseases that relate to the hormone,” he said. “Anything that is hormone related we treat them.”

A lot of the patients he helps is having problems getting their diabetes or thyroid problems under control. This is something your primary doctor usually treats you for, but if it’s difficult to treat, you’re referred to an endocrinologist.

“Like, for an example, blood sugar is quite high, 400 or 500, I think that’s the time to refer me the patient,” Dr. Castro said.

He said working with the diabetes educators and the dietitian at the health center is one thing they can do to help get it under control.

“We have a tool that continues to monitor their blood sugar,” he said. “In terms of thyroid diseases, we have an ultrasound. We have a microscope. We perform a biopsy for those patients who have a nodule or suspicious for cancer.”

He said his goal is to help get diabetes under control. He says if it doesn’t, someone could have a stroke, retinopathy of the eye, heart attacks, kidney problems, along with other complications.

“The good thing is now there’s a lot of medications that we can offer to the patient for diabetes, for a thyroid condition and before we didn’t have enough tools and medication,” he said.

Doctor Castro takes getting it under control personally. He became an endocrinologist because of his family.

“A significant person of my maternal relative has type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Castro said. “And most of them succumb with complications to diabetes.”

He said while treatment is important, another important thing is that the patient is compliant.