Title:A ‘multiplying effect’ on cancer prevention

Since its April 2023 opening, Georgetown’s Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention has touched hundreds of lives by delivering cancer education, legal services, patient navigation, and opportunities to participate in clinical trials. The center—made possible by a $25 million commitment from the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation in 2022—was dedicated with the goal of reaching patients who have been historically underserved in the Washington, DC, area.

Ralph Lauren’s support of and partnership with Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center stretches back more than 35 years, starting with the co-founding of the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at Georgetown Lombardi. Today, the Ralph Lauren Center is further contributing to a healthier future, a core commitment of the Called to Be campaign.

Comprehensive services that save lives

Located in Southeast DC, the Ralph Lauren Center expands on services previously offered by its predecessor, the Capital Breast Care Center, and now includes resources for breast, lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers. In the center’s first year alone, there were:

Resolving health-harming legal issues

The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation’s gift also provides enhanced support for the Cancer Legal Assistance and Well-Being (C-LAW) project, part of Georgetown’s Health Justice Alliance. The project provides legal services to patients in the areas of employment, housing, advance planning, debt, and health insurance, and trains health care teams to identify and refer patients with potential legal needs.

C-LAW, for instance, worked with a patient’s landlord to repair and remediate an ongoing mold issue caused by leaking windows that was impacting the patient’s health. The team also won a patient’s appeal for disability benefits after Social Security failed to obtain the patient’s full medical history.