NeuralFrame

November is National Veterans and Military Families Month, and in that spirit, NCRA is proud to release an update on our work to support direct data reporting from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Facilities to state central registries. NCRA’s and NAACCR’s joint effort to strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs' cancer reporting collaboration was signed into law by President Biden on March 9, 2024. The federal directive required the VA to develop and implement a plan to report cancer statistics to state cancer registries beginning October 1, 2024. This action ensures veterans’ cancer cases are fully accounted for in national cancer surveillance. In early October, Kerry Rowe, PhD, Oncology Data Program Manager at the National Oncology Program VHA Specialty Care Services, let NCRA and NAACCR know that he had communicated with all cancer registries within the VA health system regarding this new federal directive with guidance to begin working with state central registries. Following that notice, NAACCR and the CDC-NPCR program began communications to state central registry directors to begin working with the VA facilities in their state in support of this new direct-reporting law. NCRA recognizes that our members working in, and for, Veterans Affairs Health Facilities have begun the process to onboard direct reporting to state central registries. NCRA very much values your role in supporting the success of this new national directive and encourages you to openly work with your state central registry to facilitate that direct reporting. We would like to thank the members of congress who, like us, understand the importance of making veterans’ cancer data count by ensuring it is included in state and national cancer surveillance. These four members of the U.S. Congress moved this issue forward. We are grateful to Senator Mark Kelly (AZ), Senator Thom Tillis (NC), Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), and Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-2). https://conta.cc/3UZLRVS