Saturday, May 9, 2026, 8:00-1:15 PM
Louisville Marriott Downtown, Louisville, KY
Designed by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, this symposium is intended to educate cancer registrars on the accurate identification and abstraction of cancer recurrence, with a focused review of bladder, breast, colon, and prostate cancers. Through site-specific collaboration between clinicians and ODS-Certified cancer registrars, the one-day intensive program bridges clinical practice and registry abstraction to improve consistency and quality in recurrence data collection.
Participants will learn how recurrence is typically diagnosed in clinical settings, including common diagnostic pathways, imaging, pathology, laboratory findings, and clinical assessments. The symposium will highlight key medical record documents that registrars should review—such as progress notes, treatment notes, operative reports, pathology reports, imaging reports, and tumor board documentation—and emphasize specific terminology and wording that support accurate coding of recurrence items.
By pairing clinicians with ODS-certified presenters, the symposium addresses real-world challenges in recurrence documentation and abstraction from both perspectives. Clinicians will provide insight into clinical decision-making and documentation practices, while ODS-certified speakers will discuss abstraction strategies, interpretation of clinical language, and common pitfalls. Interactive discussion and Q&A sessions will allow participants to clarify complex scenarios and improve confidence in coding recurrence items accurately.
Agenda
Download the agenda (PDF, 94 KB)
| Duration | Time | Session | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 8:00–8:05 | Welcome | Valentina Petkov, MD |
| 15 min | 8:05–8:20 | Overview of Recurrence Data Collection | Pamela Sanchez, MPH, ODS |
| 20 min | 8:20–8:40 | Overview of New Recurrence Related Data Items | Claudia Byrd, RN, BS, ODS |
| 30 min | 8:40–9:10 | Bladder Cancer Recurrence – Clinician Perspective | Bashir Al Hussein, MD |
| 15 min | 9:10–9:25 | Bladder Cancer Recurrence – ODS Approach | Connie Boone, BS, ODS |
| 15 min | 9:25–9:40 | Break | |
| 30 min | 9:40–10:10 | Breast Cancer Recurrence – Clinician Perspective | Jennifer Plichta, MD |
| 15 min | 10:10–10:25 | Breast Cancer Recurrence – ODS Approach | Tiffany Janes, BA, ODS |
| 30 min | 10:25–10:55 | Prostate Cancer Recurrence – Clinician Perspective | Bashir Al Hussein, MD |
| 15 min | 10:55–11:10 | Prostate Cancer Recurrence – ODS Approach | Janet Vogel, AA, ODS |
| 30 min | 11:10–11:40 | Break | |
| 30 min | 11:40–12:10 | Colon Cancer Recurrence – Clinician Perspective | Avinash Bhakta, MD |
| 15 min | 12:10–12:25 | Colon Cancer Recurrence – ODS Approach | Melissa Riddle, AS, ODS |
| 15 min | 12:25-12:40 | Recurrence Project in Utah Cancer Registry | Sandra Reay, BS, ODS |
| 15 min | 12:40-12:55 | Recurrence Integration Database (RID) Process | Valentina Petkov, MD |
| 15 min | 12:55-1:10 | Recurrence Integration Database (RID) Results | Serban Negoita, MD |
| 5 min | 1:10–1:15 | Closing | Serban Negoita, MD |
| 1:15 | Adjourn |
