MUMBAI, Sept. 20 -- Widely recognised for her brilliance in the field of oncopathology, Dr Anita Borges, 78, passed away in Gorakhpur on Thursday evening, following a sudden myocardial infarction. Her body was flown to Delhi on Thursday night and from there to Mumbai on Friday night, where it will be kept till the family decides on the funeral date. Borges was in Gorakhpur to teach a class on pathology with her longtime colleague and pathology professor Dr Sumeet Gujral, under the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) Travelling School of Oncopathology. The programme, with 15 hubs across India, was designed to take oncology training and diagnostic expertise from TMH, Mumbai, to medical students and doctors in smaller centres. Whatever funding Dr Borges received for this initiative from the Indian government, she invested entirely in technicians, never drawing a salary herself. "I was fortunate to be with her in those moments," said Dr Gujral. "She died doing what she loved, teaching and guiding young oncologists in the country." Dr Gujral remarked that Dr Borges "refused to indulge in excess or vanity". "For her, medicine was about precision, ethics and the joy of discovery," he said. "She was blunt and honest and the best mentor one could ever have. I am extremely disturbed by this loss. I was supposed to conduct a webinar today with her, but I am now doing it without her." Known as the Queen of Histopathology, Dr Borges shaped the very discipline of oncopathology in India. A voracious reader, she often read across specialisations, including surgery, to bring a multidimensional approach to diagnosis. "Her accuracy in diagnostics, described by peers as perfect, guided oncologists across the country," said Dr Borges' former student and colleague Dr Sanjay Pai, who is the lead consultant of pathology at Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru. "She was also unafraid to challenge questionable medical ideas, dismissing 'imaginary diseases' years before research confirmed her assessments. 'Listen to the cells,' she often told her students, urging them to see pathology as a living dialogue." With over five decades of experience, Dr Borges retired as professor and head of surgical pathology at TMH in 2004. Until recently, she was director of the SRL-D Centre of Excellence in histopathology, and continued as head of histopathology at SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim, where she also established the Centre of Oncopathology. Among her many honours was the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Society of Head and Neck Oncologists. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she launched an online training programme for postgraduate students of pathology. Twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she taught tirelessly, reaching students not just in India but across Vietnam, Russia and beyond. Daughter of the renowned oncologist and Padmashri awardee, Dr Ernest Borges, Anita Borges is known to have been deeply inspired by his illustrious career and leadership at TMH. After completing her MBBS and MD in pathology from BYL Nair Hospital and Topiwala Medical College, she trained at leading global centres such as the Royal Marsden in London in 1978-where she was a member and fellow around the 1980s-and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, also serving as a resident in the latter. Although offered rare faculty positions abroad, she chose to return to India, determined to strengthen the country's cancer care ecosystem and carry forward her father, Padma Shri awardee, Etnest Borges's legacy. Colleagues and students remember her most as a pioneer, teacher, mentor, and uncompromising seeker of the truth. For many, she was the last word in diagnosis, her sharp judgment trusted across continents. "The doctor I am is because of her," said Dr Pai. "Unlike many mentors who kept the first author's credit in research, she ensured that her students got it, believing they should pass that forward. She became not just my teacher but a dear friend who I shared books, ideas, and conversations with. I am rattled by the loss, as the fraternity remains deeply shaken by her loss." The fraternity echoed that Dr Borges embodied the rarest combination of academic brilliance, integrity and warmth. "She gave Indian medicine not only world-class oncopathology but also a living example of how science, when pursued with honesty and humility, can change lives," said Dr Pai. Dr Ram Datar, former researcher at the Cancer Research Institute, TMC, and a colleague of Dr Borges, remarked that it was amazing to see the sheer numbers who regarded her as their mentor. "Half of them are not even pathologists," he said. "It is really remarkable how she touched so many different lives." Dr Kunal Punamiya, CEO, SL Raheja Hospital, where she served as the head of pathology, said, "Dr Anita Borges inspired colleagues, mentored young doctors and touched countless lives with her compassion and knowledge. We will truly miss her wisdom, warmth and ever-encouraging and guiding presence in our hospital corridors and lives."...