Since 1981, the American College of Surgeons has recognized Rapid City Regional Hospital's Comprehensive Cancer Program as an approved cancer program. To be approved, a cancer program must have a cancer registry. Its purpose is to collect information about all cancer patients diagnosed and/or treated at a particular facility. Registries are maintained for lifetime patient follow-up, education, and research.

The cancer registrar ensures that the information obtained is complete and accurate. The registry serves as an automatic reminder to physicians and patients to schedule regular examinations to obtain accurate follow-up on the effects of treatment.

The types of data collected includes:

• Age, sex, race or ethnicity, place of residence
• Medical history: date cancer found, prior treatment, abnormal physical findings
• Diagnosis: type of cancer and extent of disease
• Diagnostic test
• Cancer therapy: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy
• Follow-up

• Encourage routine follow-up examinations for early detection of recurring cancers
• Analyze physician referral patterns of cancer patients
• Detect changes in cancer rates to plan for future needs
• Develop and promote education programs for health care professionals, patients, and the public
• Evaluate the success of treatment - both by length of survival and quality of life
• Provide a valuable resource for researchers studying the causes of cancer, diagnostic tests, and effects of treatment
• Identify the types of cancer that occur in a particular geographic region