A Cancer Registry is an organization that collects data about incidences of cancer, the various parts and types of cancer, the staging of cancer at the time of diagnosis and the management of the patient. The registry would collect information from various healthcare centers including hospitals, physician practices, radiation centers, surgical homes, pathology laboratories, etc, and accordingly process the data and use it for several purposes. The main aim of setting up a cancer registry is to help prevent cancers from occurring.
Risky behavior such as tobacco smoking, alcoholism, unsafe sex, etc, may increase the risk of developing several forms of cancer. Better means of identifying the cancers and screening the patients can also be devised using the information. Various research studies in cancer are centered on the efforts of the cancer registry. The local cancer registry would monitor the cancer patterns occurring in a given population and report the same to higher cancer registries. All cancer control programs would be planned, implemented and evaluated by the cancer registry.
The cancer registry would also allocate appropriate resources for cancer control and management programs, based on the priorities (Medicine Net, 2004). How does a national cancer registry function? In the US, the national cancer registries are being managed by the CDC since the year 1994. This program is helping the cancer registries to improve their facilities, meet standards and quality levels, use the data to develop preventive and control programs, train personnel in the registry, use computers and technology to collect, process, store and use data, and to ensure that the cancer registry is functioning as per the laws and regulations.
Before the CDC could administer the cancer registries, several states in the US did not have any cancer registry. The CDC established such registries and improves the cancer control programs. Various research projects have been initiated keeping in mind the local cancer patterns in the population. The CDC is also ensuring that the data collected and the methods of screening and managing patients are of high quality. Under the cancer registry disease control programs, a certain area would be demarcated for a local cancer control program.
Hospitals located in the state as well as health centers serving the rural population would be under the jurisdiction of the cancer registry (Medicine Net, 2004). The cancer registry would be collecting vital cancer information and would be providing back information that can be incorporated in the form of programs to help manage cancer better and even prevent it. The cancer registry would also work with other stakeholders including the policymakers, NGO’s, MNC’s, insurance companies, drug companies, general public, etc, so as to help prevent and treat cancer.