Dashboards are effective tools to communicate data, but they can also be misleading or confusing if the wrong metrics are used. So, how do you choose the right metrics or indicators?
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]]>Dashboards are effective tools to communicate data, but they can also be misleading or confusing if the wrong metrics are used. So, how do you choose the right metrics or indicators?
Here is a short article with 6 steps to help you get started. Click HERE.
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]]>One of the biggest challenges faced with conducting cancer prevention events is establishing a knowledge base and understanding with the participants. To create a healthier population, or to educate the […]
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]]>One of the biggest challenges faced with conducting cancer prevention events is establishing a knowledge base and understanding with the participants. To create a healthier population, or to educate the community in such a way that they take a proactive step to living a healthier life, it is important to develop common-sense strategies that the community understands. It’s important to teach them about sun exposure and skin cancer risk, but equally important to teach them about other risk reduction strategies, such as exercise for busy moms or simple, cost effective food preparation.
There are no guidelines or limitations to the type of strategies you can develop. What is important is that you understand your communities unique needs and lifestyle norms so you can tailor the strategy to what is happening right where you live. Some research notes that lack of “real-world” resources or education that is focused on the population are barriers to delivering an effective program.
In this article methods to create population-specific strategies are discussed. Share this with your cancer committee, community outreach coordinators or other individuals who will help you plan your events.
To read the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) article click here.
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]]>The number of cancer survivors is growing in the USA as a result of combined effects of a growing and aging population as well as advances in early detection and […]
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]]>The number of cancer survivors is growing in the USA as a result of combined effects of a growing and aging population as well as advances in early detection and treatment. The American Cancer Society collaborates with the National Cancer Institute to estimate cancer prevalence in the US for the most common cancers. In the 2022 report statistics on contemporary treatment patterns and survival as well as issues related to survivorship and the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. Then, for the first time, treatment data by race/ethnicity for a selected set of cancers (female breast, colon, rectum, lung and uterus) are also presented.
Information in this report can be very useful for cancer registrars and administrators for statistical comparison or to understand the unique characteristics of the population in your region.
Download the report here and share with your colleagues!
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]]>NAACCR released the 2023 updates to the ICD-O-3 histology and behavior codes. All Registrars, regardless of which type of facility, should become familiarw with the proposed changes and guidelines and coordinate with your software vendor updates to their software and edits metafiles.
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]]>8/22/2022 – NAACCR has released the 2023 updates to the ICD-O-3 histology and behavior codes. All Registrars, regardless of which type of facility, should become familiarw with the proposed changes and guidelines and coordinate with your software vendor updates to their software and edits metafiles.
To download the files (at no charge), click here ICD O 3 Coding Updates – NAACCR. Updates are available in PDF and Excel file formats. Code lists are available in numeric and alpha tables. Also available is an annotated histology list with descriptions. Be sure to read the Coding Guidelines document for the summary of changes and how updates will be implemented and the rationale for doing so.
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]]>Cervical cancer screening helps to detect early disease and saves lives! And yet, according to the CDC, over 13,000 women are diagnosed each year and over 4,000 will die from […]
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]]>Cervical cancer screening helps to detect early disease and saves lives! And yet, according to the CDC, over 13,000 women are diagnosed each year and over 4,000 will die from their disease. About half the women who are diagnosed with cervical cancer never received screening.
The CDC launched a study to look into cervical cancer screening. Cancer Registries in Michigan, New Jersey and Louisiana participated in the study to identify women who were 21 years of age or older and diagnosed with cervical cancer. Patients were surveyed about whether they were screened or not, and if not, the reasons why. Household income, health insurance, race and ethnicity were also collected.
The study determined that of the women who participated, over 60% of them had not undergone screening for early detection. At the top of the list of reasons were that the women were not aware of the risk factors, understand test procedures or results, or did not have insurance benefits to pay for testing.
The study analysis included a lot of other valuable information as well that can be used by cancer centers and programs to develop cervical cancer screening and community outreach programs. To read the entire article on the CDC website, click here.
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]]>There are over 300 different types of cancer. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has made available a comprehensive resource with descriptions of these types.
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]]>There are over 300 different types of cancer. A cancer registrar is specially trained in how to correctly gather the data from the medical record and to code and classify it for research and strategic planning. From time to time they will come across a type of cancer they may not be as familiar with as compared to cancers like lung, colon, prostate, breast, etc. Having a resource like this one published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is very helpful.
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]]>When is chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in remission? What does it mean when the medical record states the CLL patient has a complete or partial remission? All great questions often heard around the table when cancer registrars get together. This article briefly describes the types of remission and the laboratory studies and tests used to determine its status.
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]]>When is chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in remission? What does it mean when the medical record states the CLL patient has a complete or partial remission? All great questions often heard around the table when cancer registrars get together.
CLL is the most common type of leukemia in the United States in American adults. Over 175,000 men and women are currently living with CLL, and many of them with a good quality of life. While a cure is not yet available there are a wide-range of effective treatments available today. For patients with slow-growing disease or who are in clinical remission, they may not even require active therapy. Of course, Cancer Registrars will be looking for all of this information and coding it appropriately in the case abstract.
Standard treatment for CLL is chemotherapy and radiation. However, newer treatments are being tested and made available to patients to help them achieve partial and complete remission for longer and longer periods of time. Newer therapies include:
There are two types CLL remission which we will describe below:
Laboratory tests are an important part of the medical record that the Cancer Registrar must review. For CLL you should look at the following:
CLL can be in remission for many years, but there is always a chance it could come back. It is not uncommon for a physician to recommend a “watch and wait” form of long-term surveillance. This is why it is so important for the Cancer Registrar to understand the disease process and to gather accurate and complete follow-up and cancer status information throughout the patient’s lifetime.
Cancer Registrar’s should consult the SEER hematologic coding and abstracting resources to determine other steps or actions taken during the case abstraction process, whether they are in a SEER-designated State or not.
Disclaimer – this article is not used to determine coding or abstracting standrds! Rather it is an informational guide to help the Registrar understand what they may find in the medical record. For coding or abstracting standards please refer to your apppropriate manuals.
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