The Commonwealth Cancer Association in its comments regarding Senate Bill 17-10, which aims to establish a population-based cancer registry for the CNMI, said a cancer registry is critical for the CNMI and a major step to address the lack of available cancer data to guide the formation of public health policies and the delivery of care.
CCA board president Alex Sablan said cancer patients in the CNMI are being diagnosed and treated either at the Commonwealth Health Center, private clinics and off-island via medical referral.
Some patients have more than one type of cancer and may also be dealing with other health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
“A cancer registry would allow for the various medical reports that may be associated with one patient to be consolidated into one record to facilitate more appropriate care for that patient,” Sablan said.
The data that will be collected for the cancer registry will be used to identify and monitor cancer demographics and trends in the CNMI and the Pacific region.
Sablan said the data can also help public health officials and health care providers track risk factors associated with known cancers so they can develop effective prevention and outreach programs, and improve their ability to deliver appropriate health care services in the community.
Sablan said that once established, the CNMI Cancer Registry will be responsible to report to the Regional Cancer Registry which in turn will forward the report to the Centers for Disease Control’s National Program of Cancer Registries, which will eventually be shared to international health organizations that produce cancer reports.
“If it becomes a law, that Senate Bill 17-10, SS1 would provide the Department of Public Health with the mandate it needs to establish a population-based cancer registry for the CNMI,” Sablan said.
The there is also a provision in the bill that requires private healthcare clinics to participate and submit cancer data to the registry.
“We respectfully urge the 17th Legislature to work with [Public Health] in identifying potential funding sources as soon as possible, including but not limited to the Tobacco Control Fund, in order to ensure continuity of cancer data collection and monitoring beyond 2012,” Sablan said.
