All in the Family: Dr. Christina Marzo Advocates for Her Patients

As a young girl,​​ Dr. Christina Marzo’s diabetic grandmother suffered a series of strokes that eventually left her wheelchair-bound and unable to communicate. No one in her family knew much about health care, and it frustrated her to see her grandfather, who immigrated from the Philippines, unable to navigate a complicated medical maze.

Now as a family physician at The Queen’s Medical Center, the 39-year-old helps others struggling to advocate for sick loved ones. “I see this exact scenario with many of my patients, and my philosophy with medicine is to be that person for my patients,” she says. “People don’t always understand their disease and how to make the right decisions.”

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

“People don’t always understand their disease and how to make the right decisions.”

Hawai‘i’s reputation as one of the healthiest states is deceiving, Marzo says. So many people are battling diseases and issues—battles that can be exacerbated by Hawai‘i’s high cost of living. “They need housing and groceries, and there are lots of strains on our health care system,” she says. “I don’t necessarily have the means to address all of these things, but I’m trying to do what I can.”

Family medicine is the ideal practice for the Punahou grad, because she says, more than with other medical specialties, she can get to know her patients and their families well. She often treats multiple generations of families and knows how family dynamics impact their health. “It’s a field of medicine where you’re part of your community and need to understand community issues to provide the best care,” she says.

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​​​She also loves having medical students shadow her. She learned so much from her own mentors, recalling how they went out of their way to give her valuable learning experiences. Now, she does the same, motivated to help shape the next generation of Hawai‘i’s family physicians.

While family medicine sometimes is cast as less academically rigorous or prestigious than other medical fields, Marzo tells students they don’t need to be specialized surgeons to make positive impacts on people’s lives. “In fact, you can probably have a bigger impact on people’s lives if you are a super solid primary care doctor,” she says.