Cancer registrars bring vital data to cancer fight Published April 15, 2010 By Kimberly L. Wright Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- While active-duty cancer patients may continue on to other bases across the globe, their association with the Maxwell 42nd Medical Group will continue for the rest of their lives through the efforts of the tumor registrar. Working behind the scenes of the war against cancer, cancer or tumor registrars chronicle each patient's medical history, diagnosis, treatment and disease status. They help fight and prevent cancer by providing raw data to researchers and other health care professionals, which they will employ in improving cancer treatment, cancer research, cancer prevention and screening programs. The 42nd Medical Group diagnoses about one new cancer patient a week, for an average of 55 new cases a year of various types of cancer, said Wanda Newby, tumor registrar and HIPAA privacy officer. "These are all young, healthy active-duty and dependents," she said. "These are the cream of the crop." Ms. Newby, who has been a certified tumor registrar since 1981, tracks Maxwell's cancer patients, contacting them annually to better assess the long-term results of their treatment. "You can't have statistics if you have an unknown," she said. The Maxwell tumor registry has been officially active since 1976, with cases dating back to the 1950s. More than 1,600 patients are registered at Maxwell. When someone on the registry dies, Ms. Newby must find out the cause of death and the case is reviewed. According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the second most common cause of death in the U.S., surpassed only by heart disease. Cancer causes nearly one out of every four U.S. deaths. To highlight the important work of cancer registrars, the National Cancer Registrars Association designated the week of April 12-16 as National Cancer Registrars Week. The National Cancer Registrars Association is a nonprofit organization chartered in May 1974 that represents more than 5,000 cancer registry professionals and certified tumor registrars.