Cancer Registry: A Field of Highly Specialized, Certified Professionals

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…

Posted on Sep. 11, 2023 in From Our Perspective

Creating Hope Through Action: How to Support World Suicide Prevention Day 2023

In the United States alone, there were 48,183 deaths resulting from suicide, compared to an estimated 1,700,000 suicide attempts in 2021. Suicide, suicide attempts, and suicidal thoughts is a growing issue and can have lasting impacts on millions of people and their families. While some of the biggest risk factors of suicide include previous suicide attempts, mood disorders, substance abuse disorders, and access to lethal means,…

Posted on Sep. 4, 2023 in From Our Perspective

CTR Coding Break – Coding Radiation Therapy

The August 2023 CTR Coding Break discusses coding radiation therapy. Registrar’s are encouraged to utilize the CTR Guide to Coding Radiation for coding radiation therapy treatment which is now available within the 2023 STORE Manual Appendix R. Today’s coding break objectives include: Clarification on phase terminology and coding instruction, Coding the treatment volume when the primary site organ has been removed, and coding instruction for adding…

Posted on Aug. 28, 2023 in Oncology Coding Break

CTR Coding Break – 2023 Melanoma Surgery Codes

January 2023 brought significant changes to abstracting and coding melanoma of the skin. In this brief presentation we will review the addition of the new surgery fields “RX Summ Surg 2023” and “RX Hosp Surg 2023” and show the major differences between the pre-2023 surgery fields (Surgical Procedure of Primary Site & Surgical Procedure of Primary Site at this Facility) and the new 2023 surgery fields….

Posted on Jul. 31, 2023 in Oncology Coding Break