Cancer Registry

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Please see attached response for best formatting (some is presented below). I provided the outline and information that you would consider for each section to use as a sample or illustrative example for your final copy. I hope this helps and take care.

RESPONSE:

Your assignment question is this:

Instructions: Individual Deliverable
Use the Library resources to conduct your research. Develop a paper containing a description of how a cancer registry is used to monitor cancer at either a hospital or state institution. Describe how a national cancer registry works, including what kind of data is collected and for what purposes the data can be used. Identify how the registries share information.

Interesting research assignment! One approach of helping you with this research assignment is to provide a tentative outline for the paper followed by potential research and illustrative examples for you to consider for each section. You can then draw on the following information for your research project on the topic of a cancer registry or use it as a backdrop for your own research. This is the approach this response takes.

Your tentative outline might look something to the effect:

I. Introduction (e.g. about ¼ to ½ page; introduce topic: include a purpose statement: The purpose of this paper is to...)

II. Cancer Registry: E.g. The New York State Cancer Registry or The NSW Central Cancer Registry (e.g., describe how the registry is used to monitor cancer at hospital or state institution (e.g. see illustrative example 1 below for the procedures and forms that are sued to identify the types of cancers and reporting process of hospitals in the NSW Central Region).

III. National Cancer Registry (e.g., how it works, what kind of data is collected, for what purposes can the information be used)

IV. Collaboration across Registries (e.g., identify how registries share information).

V. Conclusion (sum up main points and draw conclusions).

More than 8 million Americans alive today have a history of cancer. In 1994, about 1,208,000 new cancer cases will be diagnosed, and about 538,000 will die -- more than 1,400 people each day. One out of every five deaths in the United States is from cancer; http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/pre1995pres/940930.txt thus, the need for a cancer registry. A cancer registry is a system that monitors cancer cases that have been diagnosed or treated in one institution or a specific geographic area. A cancer registry usually collects information from medical records provided by hospitals, doctors, and other care facilities. All information collected on cancer patients is stored under secure conditions that protect confidentiality. http://www.nccc.org/ResearchandTraining/research_gbareg.html#whatis The purpose of this paper is to...

For example, the New York State Cancer Registry, located in Albany at the New York State Department of Health, collects, processes and reports on information about every New Yorker diagnosed with cancer. The Registry is composed of several units. The field services unit works with the reporting facilities to make sure cancer cases are reported on time and with high quality data. The processing staff edits data that are received, and checks the data for quality and completeness. The analytic staff analyzes and reports the cancer statistics and conducts original research. http://www.health.state.ny.us/statistics/cancer/registry/about.htm

II. Cancer Registry: E.g. The New York State Cancer Registry or The NSW Central Cancer Registry

For this section, you would need to research a specific hospital or facility that is diagnoses cancer and is required to report to a cancer registry, such as the New York State Cancer Registry (Illustrative Example 1) or the NSW Central Cancer Registry (Illustrative Example 2 at the end of this response). However, the New York example seems to be the best fit.

One example of a hospital in New York is the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (click for more information in attached response). This hospital collects the cancer data (e.g., see process in Illustrative Example I below) required by law for both the New York State Registry and the National Program Cancer Registry administered by the CDC (see discussion below).

For other examples of cancer clinics see http://www.cancerlinksusa.com/centers.htm.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE 1:

New York State Hospitals that diagnose cancer are required by law to report to the New York State Cancer Registry
Hospitals (and other required facilities as listed in the following quote) in New York State (perhaps you want to choose a hospital in New York state to use in your paper) are required by law to report to the New York Cancer Registry the required 'cancer' information via a provided form. For example:

Each time a person is diagnosed with a new tumor, the hospital(s) where that person is diagnosed and/or treated reports information about the person and tumor to the Cancer Registry. Reporting is not voluntary; Public Health Law, section 2401, requires it, and civil penalties can be levied for noncompliance with the law. The law specifies that reports should be submitted within six months of when the patient was seen. Although the law requires that all active cancer cases be reported to the Cancer Registry regardless of where they are diagnosed, in practice, cancer reports have been received mainly from hospitals throughout the state. Other types of reporting facilities, such as pathology laboratories, physicians and ambulatory care centers, also report cases. As a result of changes in the medical care delivery system, efforts are underway to increase the reporting from nonhospital sources, including laboratories and managed care organizations. Although veterans' hospitals and military hospitals are exempt from the reporting requirements, many voluntarily report cancer cases to the Cancer Registry. In addition, interstate reporting agreements with 16 states, including all neighboring states as well as Florida, help ensure the completeness of reporting. Another source of information about cancer patients is the death certificate. Death information processing is explained in more detail below. ...