The information the Cancer Registrars gather is sent to the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry and the National Cancer Data Base. 

In order to determine the long-term survival of various cancers, cancer registrars must follow the patient for his or her lifetime. Every year, they contact the patient’s physician to determine whether the patient is cancer-free or has had a recurrence. This benefits both the patient and the physician. Calls from the Cancer Registry remind physicians if the patient has not been in for a follow-up appointment lately, and prompt them to call the patient to schedule an appointment. 

As a last resort, the Cancer Registrars send a notice to the patient. Patients are often grateful for the reminder. As the years go by, it is easy for cancer survivors to forget about check-ups. However, those check-ups are critical in catching cancer recurrences or new cancers in an early stage when they are most treatable. 

Another benefit of the Cancer Registry is that physicians are able to use registry data to help them make treatment decisions. Physicians on Cape Fear Valley Health System’s medical staff can request reports from the Cancer Registry on any type of cancer. The cancer registry’s database is an ongoing account of the cancer patient’s history, diagnosis, treatment and current status. This complete summary of a patient’s disease from diagnosis through their lifetime is not available to physicians from any other source.