CONTACT: Beth Kaplan, (608) 266-1683

STATE CANCER REGISTRARS HONORED FOR THEIR SERVICE

National Cancer Registrars Week is April 9 - 13

MADISON—State officials are honoring cancer registrars in Wisconsin for their service in the fight against cancer.

Cancer registrars collect and analyze cancer data for use in identifying trends, directing cancer control activities, planning and carrying out prevention efforts and conducting research. Their data are reported to the Wisconsin Cancer Reporting System (WCRS), a registry required by state law and located in the Department of Health Services. Cancer registrars receive specialized training in records management and how to interpret cancer data, and work in hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities.

"We want to thank our state cancer registrars for the enormous contribution they make toward our ongoing goal of both preventing cancer and helping cancer patients manage the disease and improve their quality of life," said Division of Public Health Administrator Karen McKeown.

WCRS maintains a database of information on the occurrence of new cancers and death rates for the state and local areas. Data are available on the Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH) interactive query system and also on the WCRS website. Reports and state and local data analyses are published in the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publications.

For information about Wisconsin's Cancer Reporting System: http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/wcrs/index.htm

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Last Revised:  April 18, 2013