By Dr R G Wiseman Pinto
Dr Anita Maria Borges, MBBS, MD, FRCPath – India’s topmost surgical pathologist, an internationally renowned educator, a towering personality in diagnostic oncopathology, and a teacher par excellence – passed away on Thursday, in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
She was 78. She had been invited by Raghav Das Medical College, Gorakhpur, to conduct a Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme scheduled for September 19–20.
Dr Anita served at India’s foremost cancer centres: Professor and Head of Surgical Pathology at Tata Memorial Hospital for 25 years, Director of the Centre for Excellence in Oncopathology, Wadala, and Head of Histopathology at S L Raheja Fortis Hospital, Mahim.
Her diagnostic acumen in histopathology and cytopathology was unmatched, and her opinion was sought by doctors across India and abroad.
She completed her MBBS and MD from Topiwala National Medical College and B Y L Nair Hospital, and went on to train at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
A Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, she combined rigorous science with warmth, humility, and humanity.
Her expertise spanned head and neck cancers, lymphomas, metastasis, and oncopathology across organs. Patients came from every background — the poor, children, families, as well as ministers, governors, bureaucrats, and industrialists. She treated all with the same kindness and respect.
Dr Anita was also a legendary teacher. She taught not just histology and pathology, but critical thinking, problem-solving, and the art of asking questions. Her charisma, humour, and deep knowledge made her a crowd-puller at CMEs and conferences.
She mentored countless students, and her ideology of “excellence in all areas” continues to guide them.
She held many prestigious positions, including Chairperson of NABL, Vice President of the International College of Pathologists, Dean of its Indian Division, and membership of NAMS. She contributed to WHO’s Head and Neck Cancer panel, served on editorial boards, and published extensively.
Born to Dr Ernest Joaquim Joseph Borges, renowned cancer surgeon and former Director of Tata Memorial Hospital, she carried forward his legacy with brilliance. Proud of her Goan roots in Ucassaim, she loved Goan cuisine, music, and ethos, and frequently taught in Goa. She never charged for her visits, once even returning a cheque meant to cover her air travel.
Elegant, graceful, and compassionate, Dr Anita leaves behind an irreplaceable void. Her legacy will live on through her students, colleagues, and the countless patients and families she touched with knowledge, care, and humanity.
(The writer is former HOD Department of Pathology Goa Medical College)
