A cancer treatment center funded by a grant from the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation will open this year at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, according to a news release.
The grant to the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center will establish the UChicago Medicine Ralph Lauren Center. The center’s first location will be in the outpatient cancer facility at Ingalls Memorial.
The second location will be in the AbbVie Foundation Cancer Pavilion planned to open on UChicago Medicine’s main campus in Hyde Park in April 2027, the news release said. Both locations plan to offer cancer prevention, detection and treatment services.
The Ingalls Memorial center will provide community-centered patient navigation, using community health workers and a partnership with Equal Hope to guide individuals through every stage of their treatment, the news release said.
Equal Hope is a Chicago organization that provides free services and resources for breast and reproductive cancers to uninsured and underinsured patients, according to its website.
“Equal Hope is proud to partner in this effort by providing patient navigation services to help individuals and families navigate every step of their cancer journey because access, guidance, and support truly matter,” the organization said on its social media.
The center will also have a “mobile medical unit” that will partner with community organizations to promote education on cancer screenings and risk reduction, according to the news release.
The two locations will aim to address disproportionately high rates of cancer deaths in the south suburbs and on Chicago’s South Side, the news release said.
Disparities in cancer outcomes are especially stark in majority-Black communities such as Harvey. A 2024 report from UChicago Medicine reported cancer death rates on the South Side were nearly twice the national average and that cancer was the second leading cause of death in the region.
The report noted that Black men are twice as likely to die of prostate cancer as white men, and Black women have a 40% higher likelihood of dying of breast cancer compared to white women, despite having similar incidence rates. Those disparities are driven by many structural factors, the report said, including access to health care.
In an announcement, the foundation said the new center would focus on cancers that UChicago Medicine has identified as disproportionately affecting the south suburbs and South Side, including breast, cervical, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers.
Nita Lee, a board member of Equal Hope, will serve as the program director for both locations, the news release said.
“The establishment of the UChicago Medicine Ralph Lauren Center represents a significant step forward for the communities and patients we serve,” Lee said in the news release.
“By focusing on cancers that disproportionately affect our neighbors, we are advancing an approach to care that emphasizes prevention, early detection and coordinated support. The center will allow us to better ensure all patients can get the seamless care across the network and benefit from screening, treatment and holistic supportive services.”
elewis@chicagotribune.com
