The Eastern Cape has only two paediatric oncologists, one of whom is the youngest in the province, and likely the whole of South Africa.
Dr Karla Thomas, 34, heads up the paediatric oncology unit at Frere Hospital in East London.
The other in the public sector is based in Port Elizabeth.
Although Thomas is sure she is the youngest in the province after graduating last year, she agreed that there was no immediate way of confirming who the youngest in the country was.
Born and bred in Cape Town, Thomas completed her medicine degree at the University of Cape Town before doing her internship in Pretoria and her community service in Witbank, only to return to Cape Town in 2009 to work in paediatrics.
During her residency she worked at both George Hospital and Red Cross Children’s Hospital in the Western Cape, where she spent two years in their oncology unit.
“While training to be a paediatrician, I in the oncology ward. There I fell in love with it.
“It is a complete journey that you go on with the patient and their family,” she said.
For Thomas, each child is unique and special, and as such she struggled to name just one patient that stood out for her during her career.
“I love seeing sick children recover, that’s what stands out for me about what I do,” she said.
Thomas heads up a 25-bed ward at East London’s tertiary facility, Frere.
“It’s full at the moment. We have a high bed occupancy, but it’s not always full; we usually have around 15 patients,” she said last week.
The doctor, who turns 35 next month, has headed up the unit since February last year.
“When I finished training I wanted to work in an oncology unit in South Africa, after all that’s what I trained for, and I quite like East London and the beaches,” she laughed when explaining her choice of city.
Thomas was preparing for a trip to the United States for the World Haemophilia Conference when the Daily Dispatch caught up with her.
Her unit at Frere looks after children with cancer, as well as youngsters with rare bleeding problems.
Haemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder which prevents blood from clotting like it should, causing anyone who suffers from it to bleed for longer periods than the average person following an injury.
In some instances the bleeding can also be internal.
Thomas said the five-day conference was about teaching practitioners more about the condition.
Young doctor passionate about little patients
Dr Karla Thomas, 34, heads up the paediatric oncology unit at Frere Hospital in East London.
The other in the public sector is based in Port Elizabeth.
Although Thomas is sure she is the youngest in the province after graduating last year, she agreed that there was no immediate way of confirming who the youngest in the country was.
Born and bred in Cape Town, Thomas completed her medicine degree at the University of Cape Town before doing her internship in Pretoria and her community service in Witbank, only to return to Cape Town in 2009 to work in paediatrics.
During her residency she worked at both George Hospital and Red Cross Children’s Hospital in the Western Cape, where she spent two years in their oncology unit.
“While training to be a paediatrician, I in the oncology ward. There I fell in love with it.
“It is a complete journey that you go on with the patient and their family,” she said.
For Thomas, each child is unique and special, and as such she struggled to name just one patient that stood out for her during her career.
“I love seeing sick children recover, that’s what stands out for me about what I do,” she said.
Thomas heads up a 25-bed ward at East London’s tertiary facility, Frere.
“It’s full at the moment. We have a high bed occupancy, but it’s not always full; we usually have around 15 patients,” she said last week.
The doctor, who turns 35 next month, has headed up the unit since February last year.
“When I finished training I wanted to work in an oncology unit in South Africa, after all that’s what I trained for, and I quite like East London and the beaches,” she laughed when explaining her choice of city.
Thomas was preparing for a trip to the United States for the World Haemophilia Conference when the Daily Dispatch caught up with her.
Her unit at Frere looks after children with cancer, as well as youngsters with rare bleeding problems.
Haemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder which prevents blood from clotting like it should, causing anyone who suffers from it to bleed for longer periods than the average person following an injury.
In some instances the bleeding can also be internal.
Thomas said the five-day conference was about teaching practitioners more about the condition.
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