The newly renamed Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention is now open in Southeast Washington, D.C., and its mission is to assist residents in underserved communities who are at the most risk for long-term health problems.
Wayne Turnage, the deputy mayor for D.C. health and human services, said the disparities in access to healthcare, for cancer as well as other chronic diseases, are extreme in different parts of the city.
“We know from years of research that these residents, compared to their peers in the balance of the city, have much shorter lifespans, 15 years on average, caused in part by higher morbidity levels, including a higher incidence of various cancers,” Turnage said at the opening ceremony.
“The residents in Ward 8 and, to a lesser degree, Ward 7 have for years suffered from the lack of a quality healthcare facility,” he added.
As of 2018, both the incidence rate, which is the number of new cancers of a specific type that occur within a population, and the mortality rate for all types of cancers were the highest in Ward 8, according to DC.gov.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration launched the multimillion-dollar District of Columbia Cancer Control Plan in 2022. While the plan acknowledged that cancer mortality and incidence rates have gone down in the district since 2008, it asserted there is more work to be done.
“While we celebrate that progress, we recognize those improvements have not been shared among all DC residents,” Sharon Lewis, the interim director of D.C. Health, wrote in a letter accompanying the plan. “Our most vulnerable populations remain at higher risk of developing and dying from cancer.”
Representatives for the cancer prevention center stressed they are building a healthier community by encouraging people to engage with healthcare professionals before they get sick and by promoting early intervention, even for those who are uninsured or struggle with healthcare costs.
Turnage said 90% of people in Ward 8 are on Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for some people with limited income and resources.
“We need to start taking care of people who are well to keep them well, as opposed to a sick care model,” said Dr. Lucile Adams-Campbell, founding director of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention.
Adams-Campbell mentioned smoking cessation programs, obesity intervention with nutritionists, and participation in clinical research trials as methods to integrate underserved residents into the healthcare system before they get a cancer diagnosis.
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“We are taking meaningful steps to dismantle systemic barriers,” she said.
The center was previously known as the Capital Breast Care Center and has been treating breast cancer patients for years. However, given the new partnership with the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation, the facility is now offering services for lung, prostate, colorectal, and other cancers as well.
