Queens' top doctor receives another honor

For the fifth consecutive year, Dr. Margaret Kemeny, the nationally renowned surgical oncologist who has been the Director of Queens Hospital’s Queens Cancer Center since its opening in 2001, was named one of the best doctors of 2006 in New York magazine’s annual survey. &#8220It's always nice to be in there,” she said. &#8220I'm certainly happy to have it happen.”
Dr. Kemeny graduated cum laude from Harvard University and received her medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.  She completed her internship and residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital, the University of Colorado Medical Center, and Downstate Medical Center respectively. In addition to her New York magazine honors, Dr. Kemeny has been listed as one of the leading surgeons in the Castle Connolly Guide to Top Doctors: New York Metro Area.
She has served on National Cancer Institute committees and advisory boards; the Women’s Health Initiative, which launched the largest study on women’s health issues in the United States; and on the editorial board for the Journal of Clinical Oncology, for which she has contributed countless articles on the research she has completed throughout her career. 
Dr. Kemeny, who specializes in colon, rectal, liver and pancreatic cancers, is listed as one of the top surgeons in the New York metropolitan area, which incorporates the five boroughs, Westchester and Nassau counties, northern New Jersey, and Fairfield County, Connecticut.
But to Dr. Kemeny, her standing as a female professor of surgery means much more than any award. &#8220Being a full professor of surgery is a big thing for women in this country,” she said. &#8220When I was young it was especially hard for women to become a full professor [of surgery]; it was a goal I wanted to achieve [and] it felt good to achieve that goal. And it's been quite a struggle also, because … It's not easy for women to get to the top. I would think persistence is the most important ingredient, just continuing to work at it.”
Both Dr. Kemeny and her sister, Dr. Nancy Kemeny, who was also honored by New York magazine, are medical professors; Nancy works at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she specializes in colon and liver cancer.
Their parents, George Kemeny and Ellen Sagi, who were both doctors in their own right, had a lot to do with their daughters' achievements. &#8220My parents had high expectations for us,” Dr. Kemeny said. &#8220Let me put it this way, I don't think they would be surprised.”