Saffas in Uniform: Babalwa Gxenya | Radiographer

 

Babalwa combines a flourishing career in the UK with a personal long-term project of spreading awareness of cancer in South Africa, where it is often sidelined by the magnitude of the HIV/Aids-TB pandemic. 
However, cancer kills, and Babalwa, currently pursuing an MSc in Radiotherapy through Sheffield University, is determined to use her training as a therapeutic radiographer to educate women in particular about cancer affecting them.

How long have you been in UK?
Eight years already.

What does your job entail?
I’m with the NHS. I scan patients once they’re diagnosed and assess them. I plan a course of radiotherapy with an oncologist, and then I evaluate and administer it.

How did you come to be here?
I graduated from CPUT in 1999. Then I worked at Groote Schuur for three years for my BTech. That same year when I wanted a mortgage, I couldn’t get one – even for a small house – and that was when I chose to join colleagues in the UK. The plan was just to save. However, to get into the UK, I needed to prove that I could support myself – which meant going to Saudi Arabia first, to save up. By that time, several of my friends were all working in the UK – so I joined them!

Do you plan to return to SA?
I have tried going home, but at the moment, the only jobs are in remote areas. If I go home, I want to be in Cape Town, close to my family.

What would you change to make your job better?
At the moment, I’m concerned with cancers affecting women in South Africa. I went to the Cancer Centre back home, and found that there was less information about these cancers. In the UK they are starting to give vaccines for cervical cancer – we are very far from getting there in SA.
People are concentrating more on breast cancer – but these other cancers affect people psychosocially too. Government shouldn’t focus just on the big diseases. Cancer statistics at home are behind, too. Cancer still kills and people still need to learn about it. I would be interested in setting up charities and support groups in that area. Even basic procedures like pap smears are becoming less common.

What was your most rewarding day at work, ever?
My work is stressful but rewarding… part of what I do is giving hope to people. They are diagnosed with this stressful, killing disease and I am there to say, ‘We can beat this’. It’s nice to see people coming in sick and regaining their health slowly.

Are you from a medical family?
My grandmother used to be a nurse’s assistant in Langa. She did what she could to help people get well in the community.

 

Babalwa combines a flourishing career in the UK with a personal long-term project of spreading awareness of cancer in South Africa, where it is often sidelined by the magnitude of the HIV/Aids-TB pandemic. 
However, cancer kills, and Babalwa, currently pursuing an MSc in Radiotherapy through Sheffield University, is determined to use her training as a therapeutic radiographer to educate women in particular about cancer affecting them.

How long have you been in UK?
Eight years already.

What does your job entail?
I’m with the NHS. I scan patients once they’re diagnosed and assess them. I plan a course of radiotherapy with an oncologist, and then I evaluate and administer it.

How did you come to be here?
I graduated from CPUT in 1999. Then I worked at Groote Schuur for three years for my BTech. That same year when I wanted a mortgage, I couldn’t get one – even for a small house – and that was when I chose to join colleagues in the UK. The plan was just to save. However, to get into the UK, I needed to prove that I could support myself – which meant going to Saudi Arabia first, to save up. By that time, several of my friends were all working in the UK – so I joined them!

Do you plan to return to SA?
I have tried going home, but at the moment, the only jobs are in remote areas. If I go home, I want to be in Cape Town, close to my family.

What would you change to make your job better?
At the moment, I’m concerned with cancers affecting women in South Africa. I went to the Cancer Centre back home, and found that there was less information about these cancers. In the UK they are starting to give vaccines for cervical cancer – we are very far from getting there in SA.
People are concentrating more on breast cancer – but these other cancers affect people psychosocially too. Government shouldn’t focus just on the big diseases. Cancer statistics at home are behind, too. Cancer still kills and people still need to learn about it. I would be interested in setting up charities and support groups in that area. Even basic procedures like pap smears are becoming less common.

What was your most rewarding day at work, ever?
My work is stressful but rewarding… part of what I do is giving hope to people. They are diagnosed with this stressful, killing disease and I am there to say, ‘We can beat this’. It’s nice to see people coming in sick and regaining their health slowly.

Are you from a medical family?
My grandmother used to be a nurse’s assistant in Langa. She did what she could to help people get well in the community.

 

Babalwa combines a flourishing career in the UK with a personal long-term project of spreading awareness of cancer in South Africa, where it is often sidelined by the magnitude of the HIV/Aids-TB pandemic. 
However, cancer kills, and Babalwa, currently pursuing an MSc in Radiotherapy through Sheffield University, is determined to use her training as a therapeutic radiographer to educate women in particular about cancer affecting them.

How long have you been in UK?
Eight years already.

What does your job entail?
I’m with the NHS. I scan patients once they’re diagnosed and assess them. I plan a course of radiotherapy with an oncologist, and then I evaluate and administer it.

How did you come to be here?
I graduated from CPUT in 1999. Then I worked at Groote Schuur for three years for my BTech. That same year when I wanted a mortgage, I couldn’t get one – even for a small house – and that was when I chose to join colleagues in the UK. The plan was just to save. However, to get into the UK, I needed to prove that I could support myself – which meant going to Saudi Arabia first, to save up. By that time, several of my friends were all working in the UK – so I joined them!

Do you plan to return to SA?
I have tried going home, but at the moment, the only jobs are in remote areas. If I go home, I want to be in Cape Town, close to my family.

What would you change to make your job better?
At the moment, I’m concerned with cancers affecting women in South Africa. I went to the Cancer Centre back home, and found that there was less information about these cancers. In the UK they are starting to give vaccines for cervical cancer – we are very far from getting there in SA.
People are concentrating more on breast cancer – but these other cancers affect people psychosocially too. Government shouldn’t focus just on the big diseases. Cancer statistics at home are behind, too. Cancer still kills and people still need to learn about it. I would be interested in setting up charities and support groups in that area. Even basic procedures like pap smears are becoming less common.

What was your most rewarding day at work, ever?
My work is stressful but rewarding… part of what I do is giving hope to people. They are diagnosed with this stressful, killing disease and I am there to say, ‘We can beat this’. It’s nice to see people coming in sick and regaining their health slowly.

Are you from a medical family?
My grandmother used to be a nurse’s assistant in Langa. She did what she could to help people get well in the community.

 

Babalwa combines a flourishing career in the UK with a personal long-term project of spreading awareness of cancer in South Africa, where it is often sidelined by the magnitude of the HIV/Aids-TB pandemic. 
However, cancer kills, and Babalwa, currently pursuing an MSc in Radiotherapy through Sheffield University, is determined to use her training as a therapeutic radiographer to educate women in particular about cancer affecting them.

How long have you been in UK?
Eight years already.

What does your job entail?
I’m with the NHS. I scan patients once they’re diagnosed and assess them. I plan a course of radiotherapy with an oncologist, and then I evaluate and administer it.

How did you come to be here?
I graduated from CPUT in 1999. Then I worked at Groote Schuur for three years for my BTech. That same year when I wanted a mortgage, I couldn’t get one – even for a small house – and that was when I chose to join colleagues in the UK. The plan was just to save. However, to get into the UK, I needed to prove that I could support myself – which meant going to Saudi Arabia first, to save up. By that time, several of my friends were all working in the UK – so I joined them!

Do you plan to return to SA?
I have tried going home, but at the moment, the only jobs are in remote areas. If I go home, I want to be in Cape Town, close to my family.

What would you change to make your job better?
At the moment, I’m concerned with cancers affecting women in South Africa. I went to the Cancer Centre back home, and found that there was less information about these cancers. In the UK they are starting to give vaccines for cervical cancer – we are very far from getting there in SA.
People are concentrating more on breast cancer – but these other cancers affect people psychosocially too. Government shouldn’t focus just on the big diseases. Cancer statistics at home are behind, too. Cancer still kills and people still need to learn about it. I would be interested in setting up charities and support groups in that area. Even basic procedures like pap smears are becoming less common.

What was your most rewarding day at work, ever?
My work is stressful but rewarding… part of what I do is giving hope to people. They are diagnosed with this stressful, killing disease and I am there to say, ‘We can beat this’. It’s nice to see people coming in sick and regaining their health slowly.

Are you from a medical family?
My grandmother used to be a nurse’s assistant in Langa. She did what she could to help people get well in the community.

 

Babalwa combines a flourishing career in the UK with a personal long-term project of spreading awareness of cancer in South Africa, where it is often sidelined by the magnitude of the HIV/Aids-TB pandemic. 
However, cancer kills, and Babalwa, currently pursuing an MSc in Radiotherapy through Sheffield University, is determined to use her training as a therapeutic radiographer to educate women in particular about cancer affecting them.

How long have you been in UK?
Eight years already.

What does your job entail?
I’m with the NHS. I scan patients once they’re diagnosed and assess them. I plan a course of radiotherapy with an oncologist, and then I evaluate and administer it.

How did you come to be here?
I graduated from CPUT in 1999. Then I worked at Groote Schuur for three years for my BTech. That same year when I wanted a mortgage, I couldn’t get one – even for a small house – and that was when I chose to join colleagues in the UK. The plan was just to save. However, to get into the UK, I needed to prove that I could support myself – which meant going to Saudi Arabia first, to save up. By that time, several of my friends were all working in the UK – so I joined them!

Do you plan to return to SA?
I have tried going home, but at the moment, the only jobs are in remote areas. If I go home, I want to be in Cape Town, close to my family.

What would you change to make your job better?
At the moment, I’m concerned with cancers affecting women in South Africa. I went to the Cancer Centre back home, and found that there was less information about these cancers. In the UK they are starting to give vaccines for cervical cancer – we are very far from getting there in SA.
People are concentrating more on breast cancer – but these other cancers affect people psychosocially too. Government shouldn’t focus just on the big diseases. Cancer statistics at home are behind, too. Cancer still kills and people still need to learn about it. I would be interested in setting up charities and support groups in that area. Even basic procedures like pap smears are becoming less common.

What was your most rewarding day at work, ever?
My work is stressful but rewarding… part of what I do is giving hope to people. They are diagnosed with this stressful, killing disease and I am there to say, ‘We can beat this’. It’s nice to see people coming in sick and regaining their health slowly.

Are you from a medical family?
My grandmother used to be a nurse’s assistant in Langa. She did what she could to help people get well in the community.

 

Babalwa combines a flourishing career in the UK with a personal long-term project of spreading awareness of cancer in South Africa, where it is often sidelined by the magnitude of the HIV/Aids-TB pandemic. 
However, cancer kills, and Babalwa, currently pursuing an MSc in Radiotherapy through Sheffield University, is determined to use her training as a therapeutic radiographer to educate women in particular about cancer affecting them.

How long have you been in UK?
Eight years already.

What does your job entail?
I’m with the NHS. I scan patients once they’re diagnosed and assess them. I plan a course of radiotherapy with an oncologist, and then I evaluate and administer it.

How did you come to be here?
I graduated from CPUT in 1999. Then I worked at Groote Schuur for three years for my BTech. That same year when I wanted a mortgage, I couldn’t get one – even for a small house – and that was when I chose to join colleagues in the UK. The plan was just to save. However, to get into the UK, I needed to prove that I could support myself – which meant going to Saudi Arabia first, to save up. By that time, several of my friends were all working in the UK – so I joined them!

Do you plan to return to SA?
I have tried going home, but at the moment, the only jobs are in remote areas. If I go home, I want to be in Cape Town, close to my family.

What would you change to make your job better?
At the moment, I’m concerned with cancers affecting women in South Africa. I went to the Cancer Centre back home, and found that there was less information about these cancers. In the UK they are starting to give vaccines for cervical cancer – we are very far from getting there in SA.
People are concentrating more on breast cancer – but these other cancers affect people psychosocially too. Government shouldn’t focus just on the big diseases. Cancer statistics at home are behind, too. Cancer still kills and people still need to learn about it. I would be interested in setting up charities and support groups in that area. Even basic procedures like pap smears are becoming less common.

What was your most rewarding day at work, ever?
My work is stressful but rewarding… part of what I do is giving hope to people. They are diagnosed with this stressful, killing disease and I am there to say, ‘We can beat this’. It’s nice to see people coming in sick and regaining their health slowly.

Are you from a medical family?
My grandmother used to be a nurse’s assistant in Langa. She did what she could to help people get well in the community.

 

Babalwa combines a flourishing career in the UK with a personal long-term project of spreading awareness of cancer in South Africa, where it is often sidelined by the magnitude of the HIV/Aids-TB pandemic. 
However, cancer kills, and Babalwa, currently pursuing an MSc in Radiotherapy through Sheffield University, is determined to use her training as a therapeutic radiographer to educate women in particular about cancer affecting them.

How long have you been in UK?
Eight years already.

What does your job entail?
I’m with the NHS. I scan patients once they’re diagnosed and assess them. I plan a course of radiotherapy with an oncologist, and then I evaluate and administer it.

How did you come to be here?
I graduated from CPUT in 1999. Then I worked at Groote Schuur for three years for my BTech. That same year when I wanted a mortgage, I couldn’t get one – even for a small house – and that was when I chose to join colleagues in the UK. The plan was just to save. However, to get into the UK, I needed to prove that I could support myself – which meant going to Saudi Arabia first, to save up. By that time, several of my friends were all working in the UK – so I joined them!

Do you plan to return to SA?
I have tried going home, but at the moment, the only jobs are in remote areas. If I go home, I want to be in Cape Town, close to my family.

What would you change to make your job better?
At the moment, I’m concerned with cancers affecting women in South Africa. I went to the Cancer Centre back home, and found that there was less information about these cancers. In the UK they are starting to give vaccines for cervical cancer – we are very far from getting there in SA.
People are concentrating more on breast cancer – but these other cancers affect people psychosocially too. Government shouldn’t focus just on the big diseases. Cancer statistics at home are behind, too. Cancer still kills and people still need to learn about it. I would be interested in setting up charities and support groups in that area. Even basic procedures like pap smears are becoming less common.

What was your most rewarding day at work, ever?
My work is stressful but rewarding… part of what I do is giving hope to people. They are diagnosed with this stressful, killing disease and I am there to say, ‘We can beat this’. It’s nice to see people coming in sick and regaining their health slowly.

Are you from a medical family?
My grandmother used to be a nurse’s assistant in Langa. She did what she could to help people get well in the community.

 

Babalwa combines a flourishing career in the UK with a personal long-term project of spreading awareness of cancer in South Africa, where it is often sidelined by the magnitude of the HIV/Aids-TB pandemic. 
However, cancer kills, and Babalwa, currently pursuing an MSc in Radiotherapy through Sheffield University, is determined to use her training as a therapeutic radiographer to educate women in particular about cancer affecting them.

How long have you been in UK?
Eight years already.

What does your job entail?
I’m with the NHS. I scan patients once they’re diagnosed and assess them. I plan a course of radiotherapy with an oncologist, and then I evaluate and administer it.

How did you come to be here?
I graduated from CPUT in 1999. Then I worked at Groote Schuur for three years for my BTech. That same year when I wanted a mortgage, I couldn’t get one – even for a small house – and that was when I chose to join colleagues in the UK. The plan was just to save. However, to get into the UK, I needed to prove that I could support myself – which meant going to Saudi Arabia first, to save up. By that time, several of my friends were all working in the UK – so I joined them!

Do you plan to return to SA?
I have tried going home, but at the moment, the only jobs are in remote areas. If I go home, I want to be in Cape Town, close to my family.

What would you change to make your job better?
At the moment, I’m concerned with cancers affecting women in South Africa. I went to the Cancer Centre back home, and found that there was less information about these cancers. In the UK they are starting to give vaccines for cervical cancer – we are very far from getting there in SA.
People are concentrating more on breast cancer – but these other cancers affect people psychosocially too. Government shouldn’t focus just on the big diseases. Cancer statistics at home are behind, too. Cancer still kills and people still need to learn about it. I would be interested in setting up charities and support groups in that area. Even basic procedures like pap smears are becoming less common.

What was your most rewarding day at work, ever?
My work is stressful but rewarding… part of what I do is giving hope to people. They are diagnosed with this stressful, killing disease and I am there to say, ‘We can beat this’. It’s nice to see people coming in sick and regaining their health slowly.

Are you from a medical family?
My grandmother used to be a nurse’s assistant in Langa. She did what she could to help people get well in the community.