It is with profound sadness that we remember Harold P. Freeman, MD, the widely celebrated father of patient and nurse navigation, who passed away on August 11th, 2026.
For those who work in navigation today, it is difficult to imagine cancer care without the model Dr. Freeman pioneered. His work fundamentally changed how we understand the barriers that can stand between a person and the care they need, and gave generations of navigators a framework for helping overcome them.
Dr. Freeman, Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship (JONS), graduated from Howard University Medical School in 1958 and moved to New York where he completed his Senior Residency at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital for Cancer in 1967. Dr. Freeman was the Director of Surgery at Harlem Hospital from 1974 until 2000, and during this time became a renowned oncologist, serving in a variety of appointments and volunteer leadership roles while pioneering the field of patient and nurse navigation.
In reflecting on the origins and evolution of patient navigation, Dr. Freeman described the experiences that first compelled him to act:
Over the past 35 years, patient navigation has evolved as an effective strategy to improve outcomes among vulnerable populations by eliminating barriers to timely diagnoses and treatment of cancer and other chronic diseases.
In 1989, in my role as national president of the American Cancer Society (ACS), I had the privilege of leading the ACS National Hearings on Cancer in the Poor. These hearings were conducted in 7 American cities, and featured primarily poor Americans of all ethnic and racial groups who were diagnosed with cancer.
Based on the hearings, the ACS issued the Report to the Nation: Cancer in the Poor, which concluded that the most critical issues confronting poor people with cancer are substantial barriers to cancer care; the need to make extreme personal sacrifices to obtain and pay for care; greater pain and suffering from cancer than other Americans; and culturally insensitive and irrelevant cancer education programs.
These findings—along with my personal experiences treating poor people with breast cancer in Harlem, NY—inspired me to introduce the concept of patient navigation and initiate the nation’s first patient navigation program at Harlem Hospital Center in 1990.
“Since the inception of the patient navigation concept and model at Harlem Hospital in 1990, and the passing of the Patient Navigation Act by Congress in 2005, patient navigation has become an integral part of the American health care system and is now supported under Medicare. Patient navigation is now also applied in many countries throughout the world. Many, many lives have been saved,” wrote Dr. Freeman, who was passionate about reducing health and racial disparities and identifying and reducing social determinant barriers to health, starting with breast cancer patients while at Harlem Hospital.
His words capture not only how patient navigation began, but the conviction that guided his life’s work: that barriers to care should never determine whether someone receives the cancer care they need.
Last year, Amplity, through JONS, had the privilege of working with Dr. Freeman to establish the Dr. Harold Freeman One Team Award to honor excellence in healthcare navigation by recognizing a team of professionals each year who exemplify compassionate, innovative, and patient-centered care.
Dr. Freeman was especially excited to recognize navigators who he felt truly exemplified the spirit of navigation in a team setting, and he greatly enjoyed reviewing the submissions for the award.
Dr. Freeman’s influence extended far beyond navigation and his work treating patients. He advised US Presidents, influenced policy, and served in a variety of positions including at the National Cancer Institute, and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Freeman's legacy includes the founding of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in Harlem (now MSK Ralph Lauren center), countless awards, and even more numerous friends and colleagues around the world.
Dr. Freeman also co-authored an upcoming children’s book, The Navigator, which will be published this fall and serve as another way his commitment to helping others find their way will continue beyond his lifetime. More information can be found on his obituary.
For the navigation community, Dr. Freeman leaves behind more than a remarkable list of accomplishments. He leaves behind an idea that became a movement, a profession, and, for countless people facing cancer, a lifeline.
Every navigator who helps someone overcome a barrier to care carries a piece of that legacy forward.
We invite you to join us in remembering Dr. Harold P. Freeman and celebrating a life whose impact will continue to be felt in cancer care for generations to come.
Dr. Freeman was 93.
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