Dr. Payal Patel
Pediatric Endocrinologist
Growth and Puberty Care for the Children Other Doctors Say They Can't Help.
Some of the hardest growth and puberty questions come after a child has already been through the hardest part: cancer treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation can delay puberty, disrupt growth, and leave families with a lot of unanswered questions once treatment ends, often with little guidance on what comes next.
Dr. Payal Patel built her career around exactly these cases, the ones where families have been told there's nothing more to be done. Combining rigorous endocrine training with an integrative view of nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, and the metabolic and inflammatory factors that can affect growth and puberty, she helps children rebuild a normal developmental path after treatment most physicians consider closed.
At a Glance
Specialty
Pediatric Endocrinology
Primary Clinical Focus
Growth & Puberty Care, Including Post-Cancer-Treatment Endocrine Health
Areas of Clinical Expertise
- Growth disorders and short stature
- Precocious (early) and delayed puberty
- Endocrine effects of childhood cancer treatment
- Bone health
- Type 1 diabetes
- Thyroid disease
Also Evaluates
As a fellowship-trained pediatric endocrinologist, Dr. Patel also evaluates a broad range of pediatric endocrine concerns when comprehensive evaluation is needed.
Board Status
Board-Certified in Pediatric Endocrinology
Headquartered In
Scottsdale, Arizona
Where Dr. Patel Sees Patients
Dr. Patel is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with a footprint across the West Coast and Southwest. She sees families in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Atherton, Calabasas, Newport Beach, and coastal Orange County in California, and in Las Vegas and Summerlin, Nevada, in addition to Arizona. Appointment availability and format vary by location; see LIFE's full list of offices for details.
Why Families Choose Dr. Patel
Families often reach Dr. Patel after being told there's nothing more to do: puberty hasn't started on schedule after cancer treatment, growth has slowed, and the specialists who managed the original diagnosis have moved on. Dr. Patel takes a different position: that a stalled growth or puberty timeline after treatment deserves the same rigor as any other endocrine concern, not a shrug.
That approach has built her a following among families who've been searching for a physician willing to look deeper, reviewing nutrition, sleep, metabolic function, and inflammation alongside the standard hormone workup, rather than treating "it's probably just from the chemo" as the final answer.
Across years of patient feedback, a consistent theme comes through: families describe Dr. Patel as patient, warm, and unusually good at explaining a complex diagnosis to both a child and a parent in the same conversation, the kind of bedside manner that keeps families coming back and referring others.
Growth and Puberty Care, Extended to Childhood Cancer Survivors
During her research training, Dr. Patel studied bone health and recovery in children and adolescents with a history of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, work that examined how cancer treatment affects a child's skeletal development using advanced imaging techniques. That early focus on what cancer treatment does to a growing body has carried directly into her clinical practice today.
Dr. Patel evaluates growth and puberty concerns through an integrative lens: reviewing nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, and metabolic and inflammatory factors alongside standard hormone testing, particularly for children whose growth or puberty has stalled after chemotherapy or radiation, and where a single lab value rarely tells the whole story.
Conditions Commonly Evaluated
Growth Disorders & Short Stature
Dr. Patel evaluates the hormonal, nutritional, metabolic, and developmental factors behind a child's growth pattern, including cases complicated by prior cancer treatment.
Precocious & Delayed Puberty
Puberty that hasn't started on schedule, especially after chemotherapy or radiation, needs a physician who understands both the endocrine biology and the cancer treatment history behind it. Dr. Patel evaluates the hormonal drivers behind early and delayed puberty with that full picture in view.
Endocrine Effects of Childhood Cancer Treatment
Chemotherapy and radiation can affect growth, puberty, and bone health well after treatment ends. Dr. Patel's research background in pediatric bone health following cancer treatment informs how she evaluates and supports these children today.
Type 1 Diabetes & Thyroid Disease
Dr. Patel manages pediatric Type 1 diabetes and thyroid disorders as part of comprehensive endocrine care, including quality improvement work on inpatient diabetes management during her fellowship at the University of Chicago.
Education & Training
Dr. Patel earned her Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, before earning her Medical Degree from Chicago Medical School.
She completed her pediatric residency at Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, and her Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at Comer Children's Hospital, University of Chicago. During fellowship, she served as a member of the Diabetes Taskforce and the NICU Hypoglycemia Committee, helping establish improved patient education and evaluation guidelines.
She practiced with Banner Health in Arizona before joining Phoenix Children's Hospital as a pediatric endocrinologist in 2019.
She is board-certified in Pediatric Endocrinology and holds a permanent Arizona medical license.
Selected Publications & Recognition
Peer-Reviewed Publications
"An Adolescent with Graves' Disease and Thymic Hyperplasia"
D'Souza S, Patel P, Hageman JR, Deplewski D. Pediatric Annals, 2014;43(3):65 to 68.
Book Chapters
"Risk Factors and Pathophysiology of Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Children," in Pediatric Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Risk Factors and Pathophysiology, Management Strategies and Outcomes
Giwa A, Patel P, Littlejohn E. Edited by Stephan C. Duck and Joseph R. Hageman. Nova Science, 2015.
Research
As a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Patel conducted research on bone health and recovery potential in children and adolescents with a history of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or an eating disorder, funded by the American Pediatric Society and Society for Pediatric Research Medical Student Research Program, and presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Conference:
"Skeletal Effects of Eating Disorders and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children and Adolescents: Comparison of DXA and pQCT"
Suchet D, Fung E, Peebles R, Patel P, Zemel B, Sawyer A, Bachrach L.
"Predictors of Change in Bone Mineral Density in Adolescent Females with Eating Disorders"
Peebles R, Patel PS, Wilson J, Hardy K, Bachrach L.
Academic Honors
Alumni Scholar, University of California, Berkeley (2000 to 2004). Albert I. Elkus Memorial Prize (2001). High School Student Research Program, NIH (1999).
Recognition
JDRF Endocrine Champion Nominee (2019).
Frequently Asked Questions
My child's growth or puberty timing seems off. When should we get it checked?
If a growth pattern or puberty timeline doesn't match what's expected for your child's age and family history, or has clearly changed, it's worth a formal evaluation. Dr. Patel reviews growth charts, hormone levels, nutrition, and metabolic health together to determine what's actually happening and what, if anything, needs treatment.
Does every child need medication for a growth or puberty concern?
No. Dr. Patel reviews nutrition, sleep, metabolic function, and inflammation alongside standard hormone testing before determining whether medication, lifestyle changes, or continued monitoring is the right next step.
Does Dr. Patel have experience with growth and puberty concerns related to cancer treatment?
Yes. In addition to her general growth and puberty practice, Dr. Patel has particular experience evaluating children whose growth or puberty has been affected by chemotherapy or radiation, an area she has focused on since her research training in pediatric bone health.
Where is Dr. Patel located?
Dr. Patel is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with patients across the West Coast and Southwest. Dr. Patel does travel to the Southern California offices throughout the year.
Continue Learning
Schedule a Consultation
Whether your child's growth or puberty has stalled after cancer treatment, or you're looking for a thorough second opinion on a growth or puberty concern, Dr. Patel welcomes the opportunity to partner with your family. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Payal Patel and experience the LIFE difference.