Harold P. Freeman, MD

2008-2009 BCRF Project:
With support from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention will continue to evaluate the role of the Patient Navigator in removing barriers to timely standard of care for breast cancer. Recent analysis continues to further validate the effectiveness of Patient Navigation as a breast care service delivery intervention, with the resulting benefit of improved health outcomes. The study will add weight to this premise by offering a comparison of two separate health care systems utilizing similar models.

Bio:
Harold P. Freeman, MD, is the President and Founder of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in New York City. He is Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Freeman was born in Washington, D.C. and graduated from the Catholic University of America where he received the Harris Award for "Outstanding Scholar, Gentleman, and Athlete." He later received an award for Outstanding Alumnus in the Medical Arts at Catholic University, and was inducted into the Athlete's Hall of Fame of the University. He graduated from Howard University Medical School, Washington, D.C. and completed internship and residency in General Surgery at Howard University Hospital where he received the Daniel Hale Williams Award for Outstanding Achievements as Chief Resident. Subsequently he was Senior Resident in Cancer Surgery for three years at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City.

Dr. Freeman is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons, and on the Executive Council of the Society of Surgical Oncology. He was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1997, and has received Honorary Doctor of Science Degrees from Albany Medical College, Niagara University, Adelphi University, and the Catholic University of America. He was awarded the University of California at San Francisco Medal. He served as National President of the American Cancer Society, 1988-1989.

Dr. Freeman is the chief architect of the American Cancer Society's initiative on cancer in the poor and is a leading authority on the interrelationships between race, poverty and cancer. Related to this, the "Harold P. Freeman Award" was established by the American Cancer Society in 1990. This award may be given annually in ACS divisions throughout America to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the fight against cancer in the poor. Dr. Freeman is past Chairman of the United States President's Cancer Panel. He has been appointed to this position for four three-year terms, first by President Bush in 1991 and subsequently by President Clinton in 1994, 1997 and 2000. He is also the pioneer of Patient Navigation, the purpose of which is to eliminate barriers to timely cancer care for poor and uninsured patients. The President signed the Patient Navigation and Chronic Disease Prevention Act in 2005 bas on this model.

Among awards received by Dr. Freeman are: Mary Lasker Award for Public Service, Time, Inc. Health Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Cancer Society Medal of Honor, the 2001 CDC Champion of Prevention award from the Centers for Disease Control on the occasion of their 50th anniversary, the 2002 Breast Cancer Research Foundation "Jill Rose Award" and the 2003 American Society of Clinical Oncology.