Kathleen M. Foley

Dr. Kathleen M. Foley (born 1944) is an American physician. She was an Attending Neurologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She worked as a professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Clinical Pharmacology at Cornell University Weill Medical College. Foley made contributions toward making palliative care for cancer patients accessible. She headed the country's first pain service in a cancer center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and was the medical director of the Supportive Care Program. She holds the Chair of the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Pain Research and continues to work with the Open Society Institute as the Medical Director of the International Palliative Care Initiative of the Network Public Health Program of the Research. Foley was the head of the pain service in the cancer center of Memorial Sloan-Kettering until 1999, when she stepped down in order to spend more time at the Open Society Institute's Project on Death in America. She also holds the Chair of the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Pain Research and still works with the Open Society Institute as the Medical Director of the International Palliative Care Initiative of the Network Public Health Program of the Research. and is the highest honor granted by the American Cancer Society. This award recognizes oncologists for their exceptional contribution to cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment. Foley was recognized for her clinical research which focused on the assessment of pain in cancer patients as well as the treatment of this pain.

In addition to these two awards, Foley received the Frank Netter Award of the American Academy of Neurology and both the Distinguished Service Award and the Humanitarian Award from the American Cancer Society in 1992 and 2004 respectively.

Personal life Foley currently lives in New York with her husband, Charles Foley. Together, they have two sons, Fritz and David Foley.