Reflection on a journey from the USA to Cape Town: the experiences of a radiation oncology resident
Abstract
Earlier in 2020, in a time before masks and social distancing that now feels like a lifetime ago, I boarded a flight from New York to Johannesburg, with a final destination of Cape Town. Though saying it was a one-way ticket would be more exciting, it was in fact a round trip, with my return home scheduled one month later, despite my denial of an imminent return to the US. I was headed for Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, specifically the Radiation Oncology unit, for a month-long clinical rotation to be spent primarily with the Gynaecological Oncology team.