Specialist Physician and Medical Oncologist: Sandton Oncology Centre

Medical oncologists specialise in diagnosing and treating cancer. There are only 17 such specialists in the country and 35-year-old Dr Keorapetse “Keo” Tabane is one of them. Oncology did not initially feature in Tabane’s plans, but during her training as a physician the oncologists she worked with seemed to think she’d be good at it. Once she got a feel for it she realised it came naturally to her, so she stayed on. In 2008 Tabane joined the Sandton Oncology Centre, where she is heavily involved in the research unit, which also conducts clinical trials. Her work on subjects such as pain in cancer and mesothelioma have featured in peer-reviewed publications and she was recently invited to share her research with peers at an oncology symposium in Dubai. Apart from continuing to give hope and encouragement to her patients she wants to further her research in the area of HIV and cancer.

— Fatima Asmal

Twitter: @keotabane