Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Kathleen Foley founded the first pain and palliative care service within a cancer hospital in the United States.
Dr. Foley and her colleagues in the departments of Neurology and Pharmacology and Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Weill Medical College of Cornell University performed ground-breaking scientific research which greatly advanced the science of pain medicine, and established pain management as a priority in the delivery of comprehensive cancer care.
Today the Pain and Palliative Care Service is the internationally recognized leader in the evaluation and treatment of cancer patients with pain.
A major priority of the Pain and Palliative Care Service is the incorporation of the principles of palliative care into the care of all patients with cancer from the time of diagnosis, not only in the setting of advanced or terminal disease.
Palliative care treatment:
- Affirms life and regards death as a normal process.
- Neither hastens nor postpones death.
- Provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms.
- Integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care.
- Offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death.
- Offers a support system to help the family cope during the patient's illness and in their bereavement.
