Dr Anthony Mfundo Feketshane, a 52-year-old medical specialist hailing from the small town of Cala in the Eastern Cape, had a strong calling to embark on a profession in healthcare and now serves his patients with compassion and empathy, as well as providing exceptional medical expertise.
As a gynaecological oncologist, he has dedicated his career to having a positive impact in the realm of women’s health and cancer treatment.
His journey towards becoming a doctor was inspired by a combination of influential figures in his life as well as personal experiences.
His hometown GP instilled in him a passion for medicine, and a desire to positively affect people’s lives.
“I was just fascinated by his life, philosophy and teachings,” he said.
His father’s friend, Lumko Mafanya, instilled in him the importance of education.
“He always encouraged me to pursue the path to my self-liberation through education, and I guess he was a bit biased to influence me to become a medical doctor like himself,” he said.
A gynaecologist who treated his late youngest sister also had a profound impact on his chosen career path.
“Sheconsulted a gynaecologist in East London.
“As a young boy, I was so impressed with this guy’s innate sense of compassion, as well as his academic and practical knowledge.
“From that day on, [having] his qualifications were on my future wish list.”
Today, Feketshane embodies that same compassion and expertise.
When asked what the most rewarding aspect of his career was, he reflected on the joy he found in helping couples bring new life into the world.
“Helping couples to safely bring new life on earth, witnessing them improve their relationships, and the immeasurable joy displayed by their family and friends is a feeling that I cannot substitute for anything,” he said.
His workdays are filled with ward rounds, mentoring others, delivering babies, and doing various surgical procedures.
He also makes it a priority to stay up-to-date with the latest medical advancements.
“I try my level best to attend congresses, webinars, and subscribe to reputable journals.”
Feketshane adopts a pragmatic approach to the challenges he faces in his field of work.
With sometimes having to work in resource-constrained environments, he adapts by making the most of the resources available to him.
He also prioritises his own emotional wellbeing by engaging in informal debriefing sessions with his colleagues and talking to a psychologist.
He is passionate about addressing pressing health issues in SA, particularly cervical cancer and teenage pregnancy.
He recognises that these challenges are often linked to limited access to education, poverty, and inadequate reproductive healthcare.
“We need to encourage sex education, open conversations between parents and their daughters, and to encourage some of the most knowledgeable people around this subject to share this knowledge through community radio stations and gatherings such as church services,” he said.
His advice to young medical professionals and those aspiring to work in the medical field is straightforward: “This profession is about extreme hard work and dedication if you want to succeed.
“Your work must not only be limited to the patient in front of you, you must always be looking at ways to enhance the current methods of treatment and also coming up with measures to try eradicate diseases.”
Asked what legacy he wanted to leave as a doctor, he humbly responded: “I want to be remembered as an ordinary human being who was just fortunate to systematically study medicine to be of help to vulnerable segments of society, and ultimately, to have made a positive impact on people’s lives.”
Daily Dispatch
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