On October 9th through 11th, Registry Partners had the privilege of participating as a vendor and sponsor at the New York Cancer Registrars Association (NYCRA) & Pennsylvania Association of Cancer Registries (PACR) Regional Educational Conference hosted at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Syracuse, New York.
The conference opened with Matt Jones as the keynote speaker on Life’s A Marathon. Matt shared his inspirational story of conquering cancer, learning to walk again and completing marathons in all continents. In 2002 at age 23, Matt was diagnosed with cancer, acute myeloid leukemia. He was told that he had less than a 10% chance of living to the age of 30. Matt will be celebrating his 41st birthday within just a few days. Matt’s story was not only inspirational but also a reminder to the registars that the data we collect makes a difference in so many lives.
The conference was packed full of educational sessions by registry professionals. Denise Harrison provided education on the Solid Tumor Rules and Cancer Coding and Staging for Colon and Melanoma. Jim Hofferkamp shared NAACCR Updates and Edits as well as education on Lymphomas and Leukemias. Jennifer Ruhl was able to join the meeting virtually via WebEx to discussed Summary Stage and SSDI updates. Annette Hurlbut and Jennifer Andrus shared highlights from NCRA and NAACCR. They encouraged others to become an advocate in these organizations. Certified Tumor Registrars have a voice that needs to be heard! Jennifer’s focus for one presentation was on Mentoring, Recruitment, and Retention. With a limited number of CTRs across the country and many reaching the age of retirement, we need to do whatever it takes to encourage others to join the profession. Carla Edwards from Registry Partners shared a presentation on Outsourcing – What’s It All About? This presentation provided an objective view of what, when and how Outsourcing can be utilized by a Cancer Registry. It included questions to ask for comparison before making a final decision on what company to utilize for your registry needs. Dr. Maria Schymura closed out the conference around noon on Friday with Updates from the New York State Cancer Registry.
A special thank you to Annette Hulburate for the invite and organizing a great conference. Her warm personality and bright smile were so welcoming each day. Congratulations to Becky Marine for winning the Registry Partners visa gift card!
