• Skip to Content
  • AZ Index
  • Catalog Home
Oakton Community College
  • Visit
  • Request Info
  • Apply
  • MyOakton
  • Library
  • Academics toggle about us mobile menu
  • Apply toggle about us mobile menu
  • Paying for College toggle about us mobile menu
  • Life at Oakton toggle about us mobile menu
  • Giving toggle about us mobile menu
  • About Us toggle about us mobile menu
  • Visit
  • Request Info
  • Apply
  • MyOakton
  • Library
  • Library
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Alumni
  • Programs
  • Directory
  • The Community
  • Employment

Cancer Registry Management

  • Home›
  • Career Programs and Pathways›
  • Cancer Registry Management

2023-2024 Edition

  • Greeting from the President
  • Mission, Vision and Values
  • About Oakton
  • Academic Calendar
  • Academic and Student Policies
  • Academic and Student Support Services
  • Academic Curricula and Departments
  • Illinois Articulation Initiative
  • Baccalaureate Transfer Programs and Pre-​majors
  • Career Programs and Pathways
    • Accounting Associate
    • Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Technology
    • Automotive Technology
    • Business and Professional Services
    • Cancer Registry Management
    • Cannabis Studies
    • Computer Applications for Business
    • Computer Information Systems
    • Computer Integrated Manufacturing
    • Computer Networking and Systems
    • Early Childhood Education
    • Electronics and Computer Technology
    • Facilities Management and Engineering
    • Fire Science Technology
    • Global Business Studies
    • Graphic Design
    • Health Information Technology
    • Human Services
    • Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
    • Management and Supervision
    • Marketing Management
    • Mechanical Design/​CAD
    • Medical Assistant
    • Medical Laboratory Technology
    • Nursing
    • Nursing, Basic Nurse Assistant Training
    • Nursing, Person-​Centered Elder Support
    • Paralegal Studies
    • Patient Care Technician
    • Pharmacy Technician
    • Phlebotomy
    • Physical Therapist Assistant
    • Public Health Contact Tracer Professional
    • Sterile Processing Technician
    • Substance Abuse Counseling
    • Technical Communication
  • Course Descriptions
  • College Transitions
  • Student Services
  • Campus Services
  • Continuing Education, Training, and Workforce Development
  • Faculty and Administrators
  • Catalog A-​Z Index
  • Search Courses
  • Academic Briefing
  • Archive
  • Overview
  • Certificate
  • Pathway
  • Courses
Department Chair: Hanna Wierzchowski, 847.635.1695, hwierzchowski@oakton.edu

Cancer Registry Management is an advanced certificate program designed for individuals interested in data collection, management and research with the outcome of improving lives through quality cancer data management.

This program combines academic and technical studies as well as professional practice experience in Healthcare agencies and organizations. Students must be available for professional practice placement during daytime business hours and are required to provide their own transportation to assigned sites.

Those admitted to the program will be required to submit proof of medical insurance coverage. Students must receive a minimum grade of C in all HIT courses.

Graduates of this program qualify to take the national certification exam, the Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR), given by the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA). The Cancer Registry Management program is accredited by the National Cancer Registrars Association.

This is a limited enrollment program that begins in the fall semester and may be completed in four semesters.

Prerequisites:

  • High school graduation or High School Equivalency Certificate 1.
    Foreign high school graduates or students with foreign college credits need to send English translated copies of their transcripts to Educational Perspectives, www.edperspective.org/oakton. Students with foreign college credit should request a catalog match.
  • A minimum of 60 college credits or an Associate degree or a Registered Health Information Technical (RHIT) credential or a Register Health Information Administrator (RHIA) credential.
  • Completion of HIT 104 with minimum grade of C.
  • Completion of one of the following options with minimum grade of C:
    • One semester course in Human Anatomy and one semester course in Human Physiology or
    • Combined two-semester course in Human Anatomy and Human Physiology or
    • BIO 114 and HIT 124
  • Completion of HIT 194 with minimum grade of C.
  • Interview with and consent of HIT chair.
  • Satisfactory health as demonstrated and certified by current physical examination.
  • Entry level competency for EGL 101 as demonstrated by coursework or assessment.
  • Clear Criminal Background Check and Clear Drug Screen.
1

Starting January 1, 2023, the High School Equivalency Certificate becomes the State of Illinois High School Diploma. High School Equivalency credentials received prior to that date remain valid.

Cancer Registry Management Certificate

26 Semester Credit Hours; Curriculum: 0291

Course List
Code Title Hours
Courses for a Certificate
HIT 107Cancer Registry Organization and Management3
HIT 109Cancer Registry Operations3
HIT 122Cancer Disease Coding and Staging4
HIT 127Oncology Treatment and Coding4
HIT 152Abstracting Methods in Cancer Registry4
HIT 157Data Quality and Utilization in Cancer Registry4
HIT 202Cancer Registry Clinical Practicum4
Total Hours26

Cancer Registry Management Certificate Pathway

The following Pathway is recommended for students pursuing the Cancer Registry Management Certificate.

For more information on recommended courses or program specific advising, contact the Health Career Advisor at 847.635.1844 or the Program Chair at 847.635.1695. 

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Semester OneHours
HIT 107 Cancer Registry Organization and Management 3
HIT 109 Cancer Registry Operations 3
 Hours6
Semester Two
HIT 122 Cancer Disease Coding and Staging 4
HIT 127 Oncology Treatment and Coding 4
 Hours8
Second Year
Semester One
HIT 152 Abstracting Methods in Cancer Registry 4
HIT 157 Data Quality and Utilization in Cancer Registry 4
 Hours8
Semester Two
HIT 202 Cancer Registry Clinical Practicum 4
 Hours4
 Total Hours26
Note: Pathway is a recommended sequence of courses. For program-specific advising including course prerequisites and recommendations, contact the health career advisor or program chair.

Cancer Registry Management Courses

Note: Cancer Registry Management Courses belong to Health Information Technology (HIT) discipline.

HIT 104
Medical Terminology  
3 credit hours (lecture: 3 | lab: 0)

Course presents medical terminology through study of medical word roots, prefixes and suffixes. Focus on relationships among symptomatic, disease, and procedural terms.

Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online
HIT 107
Cancer Registry Organization and Management  
3 credit hours (lecture: 3 | lab: 0)

Course provides an introduction to cancer registry organization and management. Emphasis is placed on the basic knowledge of the types and purpose of cancer registries, quality control activities, accreditation, standard-setting organizations, as well as the legal and ethical issues surrounding a cancer registry.

Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Cancer Registry Management Program; HIT 109 with a minimum grade of C or concurrent enrollment.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online
HIT 109
Cancer Registry Operations  
3 credit hours (lecture: 3 | lab: 0)

Course provides an in-depth picture of the systematic processes used in the daily operations of a cancer registry. These processes include identification of cases, coding, maintaining quality, as well as lifetime follow-up and the role these elements plays in providing data for analysis. The focus will be on case eligibility requirements for state and national standards as well as the voluntary standards for accredited cancer programs of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (ACOS/CoC). The importance of cancer committees, cancer conferences and quality monitoring will be reviewed.

Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Cancer Registry Management Program; HIT 107 with a minimum grade C or concurrent enrollment.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online
HIT 122
Cancer Disease Coding and Staging  
4 credit hours (lecture: 2 | lab: 4)

Course defines cancer and how it develops and spreads. Students will learn about the many types of cancer and how to classify these tumors utilizing globally recognized codes. Instruction on the different references which are used to assign codes for topography, morphology and extent of disease will be explored. Two major staging systems will be examined, The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM Stage and Collaborative Stage. An overview of historical staging systems will be included as a reference for students.

Prerequisite: HIT 107 and HIT 109 with a minimum grade of C; HIT 127 with a minimum grade of C or concurrent enrollment in HIT 127.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online

Fee: $10

HIT 124
Fundamentals of Medical Science  
3 credit hours (lecture: 3 | lab: 0)

Course provides introduction to medical science. Content includes study of nature and cause of disease, patient screening, diagnostic methods, treatment, and management of patients, as well as prognosis and prevention along with practical application of knowledge by health information management professional.

Prerequisite: HIT 121 with a minimum grade of C or concurrent enrollment in HIT 121.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online
HIT 127
Oncology Treatment and Coding  
4 credit hours (lecture: 2 | lab: 4)

Course covers oncology treatment and coding including an overview of nomenclature and classification systems. Importance is placed on major sites of cancer, diagnostic and staging procedures, treatment modalities, clinical trials and research protocols. American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging, SEER summary staging, and extent of disease concepts used by physicians and cancer surveillance organizations to determine treatment and survival will be emphasized.

Prerequisite: HIT 107 and HIT 109 with a minimum grade of C; HIT 122 with a minimum grade of C or concurrent enrollment in HIT 122.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online

Fee: $10

HIT 152
Abstracting Methods in Cancer Registry  
4 credit hours (lecture: 1 | lab: 6)

Course is designed to introduce and apply the principles of cancer registry abstracting. Identification and selection of appropriate clinical information from medical records in a manner consistent with cancer registration regulatory core data requirements will be emphasized. Upon completion, student should be able to record, code, and stage site-specific cancer information as well as perform quality control edits to abstracted information to assure timeliness, completeness and accuracy of data.

Prerequisite: HIT 122 and HIT 127 with a minimum grade of C; HIT 157 with a minimum grade of C or concurrent enrollment in HIT 157.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online

Fee: $20

HIT 157
Data Quality and Utilization in Cancer Registry  
4 credit hours (lecture: 2 | lab: 4)

Course introduces cancer patient follow-up methodology and processes used to obtain follow-up cancer information regarding disease status, recurrence information, subsequent treatment and development of subsequent primary cancers. The use of follow-up information within the cancer registry and healthcare organization is also reviewed. An introduction to cancer statistics with an emphasis placed on descriptive and analytic epidemiology, cancer surveillance, annual report preparation, and usefulness of statistical cancer data in a healthcare organization will be reviewed. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of physician and other follow-up resources and activities.

Prerequisite: HIT 122 and HIT 127 with a minimum grade of C; HIT 152 with a minimum grade of C or concurrent enrollment in HIT 152.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online

Fee: $20

HIT 194
Electronic Health Record and Applications  
3 credit hours (lecture: 3 | lab: 0)

Course covers health information systems used in health care delivery systems including terminology and essential concepts of health information systems. An overview of administrative and clinical information systems is given. Course covers phases of system development life cycle and structure of electronic health record (EHR). Content includes overview of health care industry’s transitioning to electronic health record systems, components of EHR, certified EHR technology, benefits of EHR, along with privacy and security issues affecting access to and use of patient information. Students are introduced to data analytics and healthcare informatics. Course also covers database design, standards for HIT, and health information exchange. Students practice with software applications common to a healthcare setting.

Recommended: Hands-on computer experience using software in Windows, i.e., Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online
HIT 202
Cancer Registry Clinical Practicum  
4 credit hours (lecture: 1 | lab: 10)

Course provides supervised hands-on clinical experience in all aspects of cancer registry organization and operation. Experience will include but not be limited to all facets of coding and abstracting of cancer data, data collection, follow-up processes, and quality assurance activities. Students will have exposure to cancer committee functions as well as cancer conferences. Upon completion, students should be able to apply cancer information management theory to cancer registry practices and standards. Students have the status of learner and shall not be considered agency employees, nor do they replace employed staff. Clinical practice is conducted as a non-paid laboratory experience under the direct supervision of a cancer tumor registrar and will include experiences in all eight National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) educational components.

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor or department chair.  
Delivery mode: Face-to-Face | Online

Fee: $20

Oakton Community College Home

Des Plaines Campus

1600 E. Golf Road

Des Plaines, IL 60016

847.635.1600
Directions

Skokie Campus

7701 N. Lincoln Avenue

Skokie, IL 60077

847.635.1600
Directions
Achieving the Dream Leader College
Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
  • Maps & Directions
  • Bookstore
  • Employment
  • Staff Directory
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Info

© 2023-2024 Oakton College | All Rights Reserved.

Back to top

Print Options

  • Send Page to Printer

    Print this page.

  • Download Page (PDF)

    The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

  • Oakton Community College 2023-2024 Catalog

    A PDF of the entire 2023-2024 catalog.