Dr. Freeman is Founder and Medical Director of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in Harlem, New York. He is currently a Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He holds the academic rank of Professor of Clinical Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Freeman is one of the foremost international authorities on Interrelationships among Poverty, Culture Social Injustice and Cancer and is the leading voice on cancer disparities.

For twenty-five years (1974-1999), Dr. Freeman was the Director of Surgery at Harlem Hospital Center. For a five year period ending in September 2005, he held the position of an Associate Director of the NCI and Founding Director of the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities.

Dr. Freeman served as National President of the American Cancer Society (ACS) from 1988 - 1989. He was the Chief Architect of the American Cancer Society's initiative on Cancer in the Poor. Through his leadership and guidance during his tenure as ACS President, concerted efforts to address the health concerns of the poor and underserved which became a priority for the nation. In recognition of this contribution, The ACS established the "Harold P. Freeman Award" in 1990. This award is given annually by various ACS divisions throughout America to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the fight against cancer in the poor.

Dr. Freeman served as Chairman of the United States President's Cancer Panel (PCP) for eleven years. He was appointed for four consecutive three-year terms to the panel first by President Bush in 1991 and subsequently by President Clinton in 1994, 1997 and 2000.

Dr. Freeman was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1997.

Beginning in 1990, Dr. Freeman pioneered the "Patient Navigation Program". This program which he developed in Harlem has proved to be a successful model to reduce disparities in access to diagnosis and treatment of cancer particularly among poor and uninsured people. Based primarily on the Patient Navigation model created by Dr. Freeman in Harlem, "The Patient Navigator, Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act" was enacted by The Congress and signed by The President in June 2005.

Dr. Freeman received an AB Degree from Catholic University of America and an MD Degree from Howard University where he also completed residency training in surgery. Subsequently he was a senior resident in cancer surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Among selected awards he has received are the following: The Mary Lasker Award for Public Service; Medal of Honor National American Cancer Society; Special Recognition Award of the American Society of Clinical Oncology; Champion of Prevention Award of the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; The Lifetime Achievement Award of Time Inc. Health and The Betty Ford Award of The Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.