F E AT U R E : A G E I N G
STAND ASIDE FO
Spectators cheer for an elderly woman taking part in the Argus Cycle Tour (2014), the largest individually timed bicycle race in the world. It follows a route of 109km around Cape Town.
WE AIM FOR QUALITY OF LIFE RATHER THAN RELENTLESSLY PURSUING LENGTH OF LIFE
“W
e aim for quality of life rather than relentlessly pursuing length of life,” says Dr India Butler (MMed 2017), one of South Africa’s small group of registered geriatricians or ageing specialists. Her practice is at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Johannesburg. Geriatric medicine is a holistic
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WITS REVIEW APRIL 2019
approach to caring for older people – defined by the World Health Organisation as those aged 65 and up. “I’m fascinated by older people and the lives they have lived,” says Dr Butler. “In our profession we take the time to listen to our patients’ life histories as it is a very important part of deciding on the treatment they need to enhance their quality of life or how they might recover from surgery. You get people in
