Ralph Lauren Is Opening a Cancer Prevention Center in Los Angeles Next Year
Ralph Lauren was diagnosed with a brain tumor back in 1986. After it was removed, America’s most successful fashion designer began raising awareness and funds in support of cancer research, treatment, and care. His philanthropic efforts went even further this week, though.
The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation has awarded a grant to the University of Southern California, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (USC Norris) to open a new facility to help the medically underserved in Los Angeles, according to a statement shared on Monday. It comes one year after the foundation made a $25 million commitment to expand or establish five Ralph Lauren-named cancer centers in underserved communities across the United States.
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Slated to open at USC Norris next spring, the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention will help to improve access to high-quality cancer screening services and timely treatment for any of the 10.4 million people in the catchment area of L.A. The center will work to bridge the gap between primary care (education and screening) and specialty care (follow-up screening and cancer treatment). It will also focus on addressing disparities in risk and outcomes for cancers of the cervix, breast, colon, and lung. Lauren says that USC Norris sits in the heart of the community, making it possible to reach “those who need support the most.”
This is the third cancer center to receive the “Ralph Lauren” adjunct and the first on the West Coast. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Ralph Lauren Center opened in Harlem in 2003, after Lauren learned that a disproportionate number of cancer patients were dying in the New York neighborhood due to a lack of local treatment options. The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C., then opened in April 2023.
“We have made great progress since I made a commitment to the fight against cancer more than 30 years ago but there is more to do, and we will continue expanding our efforts to make meaningful change for patients, their families, and communities,” Lauren said in a statement. “Around the country, from New York, to Washington, and now Los Angeles, we are working to reduce disparities in healthcare and improve access to high-quality preventative care and treatment, making a real difference in the lives of the medically underserved.”
In the coming years, the foundation will work with Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation to identify and select two additional grant recipients.
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