Harold P. Freeman, M.D.
Dr. Freeman is the President and Founder of The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in New York City and Founder of The Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute. He is also the Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Director of the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. Dr. Freeman is a past National President of the American Cancer Society. He served for 11 years as Chairman of the U.S. President’s Cancer Panel. Dr. Freeman pioneered the Patient Navigation Program.
Dr. Freeman is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Freeman served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Freeman served on the Executive Council of the Society of Surgical Oncology. He has been Medical Director of the Breast Examination Center of Harlem, a program of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, since 1979.
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.
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 served as National President of the American Cancer Society from 1988-1989.
Selected 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 and the 2002 Breast Cancer Research Foundation "Jill Rose Award."
Dr. Freeman was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1997.
On May 31, 2003, Dr. Freeman received a Special Recognition Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). This award recognizes a person or persons who have had a major impact in areas of clinical oncology, cancer research, clinical trials, reimbursement and patient advocacy.
Henry Godfrey, M.D.
Henry Godfrey is a breast surgeon at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in New York City. He is also a Clinical Affiliate in the Breast Service, Department of Surgery, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and is the Associate Director of Surgery for North General Hospital. Prior to this, he acted as Director of the Department of Surgery at North General for eight years.
Dr. Godfrey is a member of the New York State and County Medical Societies, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Breast Surgeons and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons. He has a special interest in breast cancer detection and treatment and has been a surgeon at the Breast Examination Center of Harlem, a community program of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, since 1980.
Dr. Godfrey grew up in Jamaica, where he studied at the University of the West Indies. He completed postdoctoral training at Columbia University and Harlem Hospital Center.
Joseph P. Yoe, M.D.
Joseph Yoe is a medical oncologist at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in New York City. He is an oncologist at North General Hospital who has served as Chief of Hematology and Oncology since 1996. Dr. Yoe is also a Clinical Affiliate in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Prior to this he was an Attending Staff Physician and Medical Firm Chief at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center.
Dr. Yoe is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, oncology and hospice palliative medicine. He received his medical training in Rangoon, Burma, and completed a fellowship at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Hematology.
Dr. Yoe has a personal interest in providing superior health services to underserved communities.
Jenny Romero, M.D.
Jenny Romero is a medical oncologist at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in New York City. She is also a Clinical Affiliate in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and attending at North General Hospital. She also serves as an instructor and emergency room attending physician at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.
Dr. Romero was a member of the Northeast Regional Executive Committee of the Surgeon General’s National Hispanic/Latino Health Initiative, a program designed to identify and prioritize critical health issues facing Latinos in America and to develop and implement strategies to address these issues. She is particularly interested in research that focuses on identifying the factors that contribute to the poor prognoses among African-American and Hispanic patients diagnosed with cancer.
Dr. Romero completed a fellowship in oncology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She also completed a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Brian Alford Stone, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Dr. Stone completed his basic science years in medicine at the Morehouse School of Medicine and obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Alabama (in Birmingham) in 1985. He was also commissioned a Captain in the United State Air Force medical Corps in 1985 and honorably discharged in 1995. He received his general surgical and urology training at the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He spent a portion of his residency training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He completed his training in June of 1994 and was recruited to Columbia University and Harlem Hospital as an Assistant Professor of Urology. He is certified by the American Board of Urology and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has specialized in uro-oncology and urological prosthetics. He is skilled in the nerve sparing and bladder neck sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy. He is also one of few urologists in the region skilled at the minimally invasive radical perineal prostatectomy.
Dr. Stone serves as a consultant to the United Nations on the International Prostate Committee. He is an active member of the Urology section of the National Medical Association and the President of the R. Frank Jones Urological Society. He has clinical
expertise in prostate cancer, sexual dysfunction, and voiding dysfunction. He is listed in the “Guide to America’s Top Physicians.” He has been identified as one of the “Top 25 Black Physicians in New York.” He has served as a principle investigator in numerous clinical trials since 1988 He has been a medical author for Ebony Magazine in the September 2007 edition.
Sitaram Pillarisetty, M.D.
Sitaram Pillarisetty has duel responsibilities at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention. He is the Director of Endoscopy and a Surgeon. Dr. Pillarisetty is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery at Columbia University. Prior to the Ralph Lauren Center, he held several positions at Harlem Hospital including Associate Director of the Endoscopy Unit, Chief, Maynard Surgical Service and laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery.
Dr. Pillarisetty is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is a member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. Dr. Pillarisetty has extensive experience in all aspects of endoscopy.
Dr. Pillarisetty grew up in India where he attended Rangaraya Medical College and was awarded MBBS degree in 1969. He did postdoctoral training in surgery in the United Kingdom and in the USA. He is a board certified surgeon.
Albert George Thomas, Jr., MD, MS
Albert
George Thomas is a gynecologist at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and
Prevention. He is also an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and
Senior Consultant of Family Planning Services at the Mount Sinai Medical Center
in New York City.
Dr.
Thomas received his medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in
New York City. He completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology
at the Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was Executive Chief Resident. Dr. Thomas
received a Masters degree in Clinical Research in 2006 from the Mount Sinai
School of Medicine and New York University. This degree in translational
research is an essential step to diminishing healthcare disparities observed in
the Harlem community.
Valerie Cuyje, NP
Valerie Cuyjet is the Supervisor of Cancer Screening Services for the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention. She is responsible for coordinating and providing services to patients seeking breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate cancer screening Ms. Cuyjet also provides cancer prevention/early detection education and health maintenance counseling as well as recommendations for medical follow up and navigation services to patients. Ms. Cuyjet joined the staff of the Cancer Center in June of 2000.
Ms. Cuyjet comes from a social work background. Her primary career focus has been working with the medically underserved. Prior to employment at the Ralph Lauren Center, Ms. Cuyjet worked in Oncology and HIV-AIDS primary care services in a variety of tertiary care hospital inpatient and outpatient settings.
Ms. Cuyjet earned a Bachelor of Science from the City College of New York and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from SUNY Stony Brook. She holds a Masters degree in Advanced Practice Nursing from the State University at Stony Brook and is a certified Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist and HIV-AIDS Clinical Specialist.
Franklin Marsh Jr., MD, FACP
Dr. Franklin Marsh is a gastroenterologist at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention. He is also Associate Director, Department of Medicine and Chief of Hepatology and Gastroenterology at North General Hospital. He is a voluntary attending in the Department of Medicine and Division of Gastroenterology at New York Hospital – Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Dr. Marsh received his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1978. He completed training in Internal Medicine at Harlem Hospital Center – Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons, where he was also a chief resident in Internal Medicine. Dr. Marsh completed a fellowship in Gastroenterology and Digestive Diseases at the New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center and was a research associate at Rockefeller University in the laboratory of Mary Jeanne Kreek. He has had an active practice in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology for the past 22 years.
Dr. Marsh is board certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Geriatrics. He is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians and is a member of the American Gastroenterology Association, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, New York Gastroenterology Association and the American Geriatrics Society.
Lucinda Webb, NP
Lucinda Webb is a Nurse Practitioner at the Ralph Lauren
Center for Cancer Care.
Lucinda works in the Screening Department providing cancer screening services
and health education to patients.
Lucinda specializes in working with multi-ethnic groups and
has international health experiences in the Middle and Far
East. Lucinda is actively involved in Hands Along the Nile
Development Services (HANDS), Inc. a Medical Mission program whose aim is to
facilitate establishment of new partnerships between American and Egyptian
medical professionals. Prior to the Ralph
Lauren Center,
Lucinda worked at the Strang Cancer Prevention
Center, Beth Israel Health Care
Systems, Mount Sinai Medical Center
and Bellevue Hospital.
Lucinda received a Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology from Radcliffe College
and Bachelors and Masters of Arts in Nursing from Columbia University.
Lucinda is a Certified Nurse Practitioner and is also certified in obstetrics and gynecology
