Public Law 102-515, Cancer Registries Amendment Act (1992) requires all practitioners and facilities to collect and report cancer data on all patients diagnosed and/or treated for in situ and/or invasive cancers, as well as benign neoplasms of the central nervous system.  With all the responsibilities on the plates of practitioners (and the facilities that employee them), how do they manage to stay compliant with public health…

The Surgical Diagnostic and Staging Procedure data field is most commonly assigned a code 02 for biopsy that obtains tissue of the primary site, as this is a direct way to identify the histologic type of cancer through a microscopic evaluation. But what about the less common Surgical Diagnostic Staging Procedure codes, such as code 05? The Standards for Oncology Registry Entry (STORE) 2023 describes Surgical…

Timely cancer data is a powerful tool that can create meaningful changes to healthcare standards as well as add value to your cancer program. Best practices for hospital-based cancer registries recommend abstracting reporting cancer cases 4 to 6 months after the patients first contact with the facility whether that be for initial diagnosis or treatment.  An organization that is not meeting timeliness standards for cancer abstract…

As a mother of school-aged children who love to spend time outside, information about drowning prevention piques my interest each summer. Earlier this spring, I read an article about the dangers of children wearing blue, or water-colored, bathing suits. I realized I had just purchased my 8-year-old son a blue bathing suit – it is one of my favorite colors on him! The article highlighted how certain…