MEDICAL CENTER REPORT
08/20/08
Memorial set Aug. 21 for neurosurgeon John Borchers
BY DIANE ROGERS
Steve Fisch Photography |
|
 |
 |
|
D. John Borchers III |
Share your thoughts about John Borchers  |
|
|
A memorial service will be held Aug. 21 for D. John Borchers III, MD, clinical instructor in neurosurgery, who died Aug. 8 when the Cessna 172 he was piloting crashed on a mountainside near Lake Tahoe, Nev. He was 41.
The early-morning crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Borchers had come to Stanford as a clinical instructor in 2006 and had recently completed a two-year fellowship in stereotactic surgery for Cyberknife, which administers radiation deep into the brain and the body to treat cancer and other illness. He was soon to be promoted to assistant professor, said Gary Steinberg, MD, chair of the neurosurgery department.
John Adler, MD, professor of neurosurgery and inventor of the Cyberknife, said Borchers was “very committed to the idea of using radiosurgery in a very novel way.” Adler noted that his friend was an inventor with an existing patent and a pending patent that involved the concept of using radiation to alter brain function. Specifically, Borchers thought radiosurgery could be used to help treat addictions, Adler said.
Borchers earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and did a residency in neurosurgery at the State University of New York. He had a private practice in neurosurgery in Marin and Sonoma counties for eight years before joining Stanford.
“He was my inspiration,” said his daughter Grace, 15. “He was probably the closest thing to the best person in the world.”
The Aug. 21 memorial service will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Stanford Faculty Club, 439 Lagunita Drive on campus.
Borchers is survived by his wife, Michele Borchers, and daughters Grace; Lauren, 14; and son Adam, 17, all of Palo Alto. His father, Capt. Doyle Borchers II, lives in Napa, and a sister, Wendy Muendler, lives in Bangkok, Thailand.
Those wishing to conribute to a fund for Borchers' children can send checks payable to: Borchers Children's Fund, c/o R. Bennett, 167 Greenwood Ave., San Rafael, CA 94901.
Share this via...