Cancer Registry
2012 Cancer Center Annual Report
Since 1991, the Deaconess Cancer program has been given accreditation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.
The Cancer Registry is an information system designed to manage the collection, analysis and reporting of reportable cancers and certain benign neoplasms (tumors) diagnosed and/or treated at Deaconess in order to meet state and national reporting requirements. A wide range of data is collected, including, demographic information, medical history, diagnostic findings, specific cancer/tumor information and treatment. The Registry performs lifetime follow-up on all patients.
High quality, standardized data is critical to measure cancer care quality and to monitor treatment patterns and outcomes. Statistical analysis of the data can be used for quality improvement, research activities and evaluating compliance with national standards of care. In addition, the data is valuable in the development of support programs, administrative planning and marketing.
Under the direction of the cancer committee, registry personnel perform other tasks that pertain to statistical data requests, perform quality assessments and improvement activities.
Cancer Registry information is used to:
- Compare and improve results of cancer treatments
- Evaluate methods of diagnosing and treating the recurrence of cancer
- Provide data for national cancer databases that facilitate hospital, state, and national assessment of patient care
- Further develop the Deaconess Cancer program
How does this help the patient?
Lifetime follow-up is an important aspect of the Cancer Registry. Current patient follow-up serves as a reminder to physicians and patients to schedule regular clinical examinations and provides accurate survival information
Information related to your treatment is also entered into the database allowing other doctors and hospitals to learn more about treatments that are providing positive results for you and other Deaconess patients.
How is this information gathered?
Deaconess patients who are diagnosed with cancer are automatically added to the cancer registry, but if you change your address or find a new doctor, you should call the registry office. This allows the cancer registrar to follow your progress and keep an up-to-date summary of your treatment. During your annual update, the cancer registrar may contact you about subsequent treatment. All information is confidential. Once a part of the cancer registry, your personal information is coded by a number and not your name.