Fall was certainly in the air in Austin, Texas for the 47th annual Texas state education conference which took place on October 9-11, 2019. Registry Partners was part of the exhibits as a vendor sponsor, and our very own Quality Consultant and Texas resident, Suzzane Gomez, RRT, RCP, CTR, presented on the topic of SSDI’s: Breaking Down the Rules.
The conference began with Dr. Constance Cleaves speaking on a pathologist’s perspective and background on breast cancer to help reporting requirements make sense, with information on ER, PR, HER2, and the Total Allred score. Later that day, Dr. Christal Murray also presented her perspective on breast cancer, but from a medical oncologist’s point of view. Also speaking on the first day were Dr. Ronald Williams, Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma, and Dr. Katie Hadden, a dentist in Austin who presented her survivor’s story, Turning Tragedy into Triumph. The night ended with a music-filled evening and great food for the President’s Reception in the ballroom.
Following a business meeting breakfast, the second day was full, beginning with Dr. Mehul Patel who spoke on Radiation Oncology and Lung Cancer, followed by Suzzane, then a fun activity of Bingo, to get to know each other a little better. Later, after the installation luncheon, Deidre Watson presented updates to the CoC Standards, Melanie Williams, Ph.D., TCR updates, and Janet Reynolds, NCRA updates. After the Exhibit hall opening, two other topics of interest were offered, Neuro-Oncology, by Elizabeth Anyanda, FNP, and Helpful Ways to Find Lost to Follow-up Patients, by Carol Likens, CTR, and Anita Eads, CTR. The day ended with lots of surprises and laughter with basket raffles and prizes; special congratulations to Lora Campbell (pictured below), the fortunate winner of our $100 Visa gift card!
Friday, even though only half a day, was full of information: Where Does it All Go? How Texas Cancer Registry Data are Used by Keisha Musonda, MPH, Robotics Surgery in Prostate Cancer by Dr. Eric Giesler, Cervical Cancer-Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment by Marian Yvette Williams-Brown, MD, MMS, FACOG, and 2018 Changes/Updates by Denise Harrison, BS, CTR. Closing remarks were given by the newest TxTRA President, Marie Gallegos, CTR, who is excited to host the 48th annual conference next year in her hometown of Houston.
For more information or to keep up with upcoming educational conferences for TxTRA, visit their website.