By Betsy Johnson
You may not know who certified tumor registrars are, or what they do. Many of us have been touched by cancer, either personally or a family member, friend, or colleague. Perhaps you know someone who is currently battling cancer or has had cancer in the past. Certified tumor registrars, or CTRs, are a special group of professionals who “collect the data that provides essential information to researchers, healthcare providers, and public health officials to better monitor and advance cancer treatments, conduct research, and improve cancer prevention and screening programs” (National Cancer Registrars Association, 2022).
Did you know: The first hospital-based cancer registry “was established at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT, in 1926. In 1971, the National Cancer Act budgeted money for the National Cancer Institute, for research, detection, and the treatment of cancer. In 1973, the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program of NCI established the first national cancer registry” (NCRA, 2022).
A hospital cancer registry is responsible for ascertaining cancer cases for all patients that present to the facility with cancer diagnoses. Cases are identified via the case finding process or review of pathology reports, disease indices, and imaging reports; to name a few. Reportable cancer cases are entered into a database suspense file. The fields are collected and coded according to guidelines set forth by various standard setters, including the Commission on Cancer, SEER, and NAACCR. What does this mean, you ask? It means that for every patient who presents to a hospital with a cancer diagnosis, the cancer registry must review, interpret and document who, what, where, when and why. Demographics, tumor characteristics, cancer treatments, cancer status and continued annual follow up data all must be documented. The data are used in statistical analyses to improve cancer research, screenings, treatments, and outcomes.
I interviewed a CTR, Georgette, and asked her to explain her journey to become a CTR. Her answer is interesting, like many in this field, she “happened” into it. Historically, registrars worked in other hospital departments, such as in medical records and learned of the cancer registry. At that time, formal education programs did not exist. Experience was gained on the job and via available workshops and educational conferences. This is what happened with Georgette, she applied for and was hired into a per diem role as a Clinical Trials Assistant for a hospital in the Northeast.
Like many cancer registries in community hospitals, the cancer registry performed functions beyond that of a cancer registry. Therefore, the opportunity presented itself to learn the role of a cancer registrar. She worked her way up and earned her CTR in 2005.
She became passionate about the cancer registry. Cancer registries are the baseline of the data, – it starts with us. “We gather all the information to help improve cancer care and outcomes, which is extremely important and intriguing. This data drives the future of cancer care, improving research, screenings, treatments and overall outcomes for cancer patients. Seeing the change and feeling that you are making a difference in the long term of patient care is so rewarding.”
Cancer registry data may be used to identify cancer clusters – “Is cancer prevalent in a particular county or state, and can the cause be identified? Why or what could be the cause?” Public health programs are identified and piloted using the data when disparities are identified in targeted populations and communities.
The fight for the cure of cancer is an ongoing battle, and CTRs wage this war daily by collecting data and helping future populations receive the best treatment available based on statistical analyses and documented outcomes. As October is widely known for breast cancer awareness, and everyone wears pink, don’t forget the CTRs who collect this data and work every day to document the data and work toward the cure.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a CTR, please visit the National Cancer Registry Association website at www.ncra-usa.org.
Betsy Johnson is Founder & CEO, HIMpros. For more information, visit www.thehimpros.com .
