Ralph Lauren extends breast cancer efforts by funding research center

The Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research at The Royal Marsden will open on May 17, expanding the brand’s 20-year efforts in the fight against the disease.

This new center will focus on breast cancer tumors at a molecular level, establishing the differences between growths in different women to be able to better target treatments for individual patients. Cancer is a personal cause for Mr. Lauren, and this latest partnership with the Duke of Cambridge and The Royal Marsden is poised to make a difference in how the disease is treated.

Making an investment

The Royal Marsden is the biggest, most comprehensive cancer center in Europe. Through Mr. Lauren’s financial support, the center now has facilities designed for modern cancer research, enabling it to speed ahead in finding new cures.

The Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research will lead the redevelopment of a pharmacological treatment. This presents an alternative to the toxic treatments chemotherapy and radiation, with the goal of lowering mortality and recurrence.

In a video, the designer and his collaborators discuss the project, giving concrete insights into how the investment will aid the cause.

Mr. Lauren and Prince William will be touring the facility on its official opening day.

Mr. Lauren was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor in the late 1980s. Soon after his tumor was removed, he found out his close friend and Washington Post fashion reporter Nina Hyde had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Ralph Lauren's Pink Pony Promise

Ralph Lauren takes up the cause annually, reaching out to consumers during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October with everything from charitable merchandise to social awareness activations (see story).