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Julius Borejko
Clinical Oncology (1995) 7:139 © 1995 The Royal College of Radiologists
Clinical Oncology
Obituary
JULIUS BOREJKO Professor Julius Borejko died in Warsaw on 25 June 1994. He had been one of the pioneering 'fathers of radiography' in Poland, who had a key part of his postgraduate training in Manchester. He was born on 12 November 1913 in St Petersburg, Russia, to Michal Borejko, an electrical engineer, and his wife Maria, a dressmaker. In 1918, the family moved back to Poland because of the October Revolution. Julius went to primary and grammar schools in Stolpce, before studying medicine at the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius in north-east Poland. War was looming and he had to do military service in the Polish army from 1936 to 1938 before resuming his medical studies at Vilnius. In 1939 he married Maria Woloszym, from Cracow. They both moved to the Jan Kazimierz University in Lwow, graduating as doctors of medicine in 1944. Julius was called back to the army for a brief period of active service near Dresden, but developed tuberculosis and was invalided home. He and his wife worked in health centres before he gained an appointment as assistant lecturer in radiology at the State Clinical Hospital in Warsaw, under Professor Waclaw Zawadowski in 1950. His studies prospered and he obtained his PhD in 1953. 'Habilitation' and appointment as a university lecturer followed in 1958. He was given leave to study radiotherapy, going to London and thence to Ralston Paterson at the Christie Hospital, Manchester. At the time there were many postgraduates from all over the world training under Ralston Paterson. One of the most prominent, for his height as well as his personality, was Julius Borejko. He took a full part in 'noon clinic' and other discussions, and had a great respect for Ralston Paterson, knowing that the latter would have 'done his homework' (RP's phrase) before talking about any subject. Nevertheless, Julius was not frightened to question, even occasionally to disagree, with treatment decisions, though he had earlier lost the argument over the need to learn some more physics. The respect became mutual. Borejko returned to Warsaw in 1960, ready to put into practice the firm principles he had learnt, and to remember them throughout his career.
Life in Poland remained austere and difficult. The country still had a long way to recover and rebuild after the terrible wartime destruction and deprivation, first under the Nazis and then their Russian conquerors. The expensive sophistication of modern radiotherapy may have seemed to be of lower priority than general improvement in health, nutrition and education. Borejko won his battles and played a major part in the organization of a new independent department of radiotherapy in the State Hospital, with its own beds and clinics. He was appointed Professor and Head of the Department in 1962, remaining in this position until his retirement in 1984. Radiotherapy was recognized as a national specialty and many doctors were trained by him. Borejko also supervised progress in other parts of the country. His own department expanded from 23 to 36 beds, and eventually treated over 5000 new patients per year. Professor Borejko published extensively, on tumours of the larynx, eye, nasopharynx and tonsil, and on gliomas and actinomycosis. He published 58 papers and a textbook. He took an active part in the Polish Society of Radiology. He was kind and helpful, full of much needed hard-headed commonsense. He had an insatible appetite for news and facts, and was a night-time addict to his radio, especially to the BBC World Service, whatever political regime was in power. He was ready at any time, in public and in private, to make his views heard, plainly and forthrightly. He had a happy family life and was proud of his wife, who became a distinguished diagnostic radiologist of high academic standing, and of his three children - Bozenna, Master of Law and District Attorney in Warsaw, Bohdan, General Physician in Vienna, and Piotr, Assistant Professor in Mathematics at the Technical University in Vienna. His last few years were not easy because of increasingly severe arthritis, but he tried to remain cheerful. He died in his 80th year from an aortic aneurysm.
K. HALNAN
Clinical Oncology
Obituary
JULIUS BOREJKO Professor Julius Borejko died in Warsaw on 25 June 1994. He had been one of the pioneering 'fathers of radiography' in Poland, who had a key part of his postgraduate training in Manchester. He was born on 12 November 1913 in St Petersburg, Russia, to Michal Borejko, an electrical engineer, and his wife Maria, a dressmaker. In 1918, the family moved back to Poland because of the October Revolution. Julius went to primary and grammar schools in Stolpce, before studying medicine at the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius in north-east Poland. War was looming and he had to do military service in the Polish army from 1936 to 1938 before resuming his medical studies at Vilnius. In 1939 he married Maria Woloszym, from Cracow. They both moved to the Jan Kazimierz University in Lwow, graduating as doctors of medicine in 1944. Julius was called back to the army for a brief period of active service near Dresden, but developed tuberculosis and was invalided home. He and his wife worked in health centres before he gained an appointment as assistant lecturer in radiology at the State Clinical Hospital in Warsaw, under Professor Waclaw Zawadowski in 1950. His studies prospered and he obtained his PhD in 1953. 'Habilitation' and appointment as a university lecturer followed in 1958. He was given leave to study radiotherapy, going to London and thence to Ralston Paterson at the Christie Hospital, Manchester. At the time there were many postgraduates from all over the world training under Ralston Paterson. One of the most prominent, for his height as well as his personality, was Julius Borejko. He took a full part in 'noon clinic' and other discussions, and had a great respect for Ralston Paterson, knowing that the latter would have 'done his homework' (RP's phrase) before talking about any subject. Nevertheless, Julius was not frightened to question, even occasionally to disagree, with treatment decisions, though he had earlier lost the argument over the need to learn some more physics. The respect became mutual. Borejko returned to Warsaw in 1960, ready to put into practice the firm principles he had learnt, and to remember them throughout his career.
Life in Poland remained austere and difficult. The country still had a long way to recover and rebuild after the terrible wartime destruction and deprivation, first under the Nazis and then their Russian conquerors. The expensive sophistication of modern radiotherapy may have seemed to be of lower priority than general improvement in health, nutrition and education. Borejko won his battles and played a major part in the organization of a new independent department of radiotherapy in the State Hospital, with its own beds and clinics. He was appointed Professor and Head of the Department in 1962, remaining in this position until his retirement in 1984. Radiotherapy was recognized as a national specialty and many doctors were trained by him. Borejko also supervised progress in other parts of the country. His own department expanded from 23 to 36 beds, and eventually treated over 5000 new patients per year. Professor Borejko published extensively, on tumours of the larynx, eye, nasopharynx and tonsil, and on gliomas and actinomycosis. He published 58 papers and a textbook. He took an active part in the Polish Society of Radiology. He was kind and helpful, full of much needed hard-headed commonsense. He had an insatible appetite for news and facts, and was a night-time addict to his radio, especially to the BBC World Service, whatever political regime was in power. He was ready at any time, in public and in private, to make his views heard, plainly and forthrightly. He had a happy family life and was proud of his wife, who became a distinguished diagnostic radiologist of high academic standing, and of his three children - Bozenna, Master of Law and District Attorney in Warsaw, Bohdan, General Physician in Vienna, and Piotr, Assistant Professor in Mathematics at the Technical University in Vienna. His last few years were not easy because of increasingly severe arthritis, but he tried to remain cheerful. He died in his 80th year from an aortic aneurysm.
K. HALNAN