Davenport University is trying to get more people working in the cancer research field.
The university is officering a new post associate cancer tumor registry certificate this fall. It’s completely online and allows students to pursue a career as an oncology data specialist.
Faculty member Paula Koning says an ODS researches cancer patients and reports findings back to the CDC and American Cancer Society.
“We collect information on all cancer patients and it documents their journey from diagnosis through first course treatment, and then for some of our programs, we also follow up these patients for their lifetime and document things such as recurrence and any health status changes,” Koning said.
Koning says students can usually finish the certificate in three semesters, depending on the student’s pre-requisites.
This registry certificate is the only one of its kind in Michigan.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be nearly 65,000 newly diagnosed cancer cases in Michigan this year.
