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 It
is with great sorrow, we have to report that April passed
this life
on Tuesday,
September 12, following a three-year battle with pancreatic
cancer. April appreciated the many expressions
of love from all of her friends and colleagues over the past
few months. Rest assured that her classes will continue and
the 3rd Edition of the Cancer Registry will be published
next year with the help of her closest professional friends.
In lieu of flowers, it is requested that memorial
donations be made to the NCRA Education Foundation. The
family is working with NCRA to create a scholarship or
educational program in April’s name with the details being
announced at the NCRA Annual Meeting in May.
Checks with "April Fritz Memorial" in the memo line may
be sent to the NCRA Educational Fund, 1330 Braddock Place,
Suite 520, Alexandria, VA 22314 or you may make an online
donation in April’s memory at
https://tinyurl.com/April-Fritz-Memorial.
Be sure to type April’s name in the "in memory of" block.
During the NCRA
Annual Conference in New Orleans next May, we will have a
celebration of life/Cajun dance party, in accordance with
April's wishes. We'll post more details when they are
conifrmed.
Joint Statement by the
National Cancer Registrars Association and the
North American Association of Central Cancer Registries
in Memory of April Fritz, RHIT, CTR
April Fritz's name is interwoven throughout the story of
cancer surveillance. We lost April yesterday to cancer, the
disease to which she devoted her life's work.
As an employee in both the public and private sectors and as a
volunteer to many nonprofits, April played a pivotal role
advancing cancer surveillance and, in turn, improving public
health. Both NCRA and NAACCR benefited from April's devotion
and both organizations recognized her work and dedication
with their highest honors.
Please join us in remembering April by keeping her family in
your thoughts and continuing your hard work along the path
that April helped build. We will continue to share
information about formal remembrance events as they become
known.
Betsy Kohler, MPH, CTR
Executive Director, NAACCR
Lori Swain, MS
Executive Director, NCRA
Update on the Third Edition of the
Cancer Registry CASEbook
Work on the Third Edition is
progressing, but some of the standard-setters (AJCC, NAACCR,
COC, SEER, etc.) aren’t expected to have the 2018 rules
available until at least September and we want to make sure
that the new edition will be as complete as possible.
Therefore we don’t expect to have it available until this
winter.
In the meantime, we will continue to
sell the Second Edition for those who need it. If you
purchase (or have purchased) a Second Edition of the
CASEbook during 2017, we will give you a 20% discount on the
Third Edition for the first 90 days after it is published,
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Education
is the key to professional development in any field. For
cancer registrars, a good education forms the foundation for
understanding the principles of oncology and the highly
detailed work involved in cancer registration. April Fritz, RHIT, CTR and her associates provide the finest educational
opportunities available in the field of cancer registry
operations. 
With
more than 30 years of experience in cancer registration,
April has worked in a variety of settings—hospital
registries, central registries, and registry support
companies. She knows what registrars need as the
educational foundation for everyday work activities. In
addition, she has been on the leading edge of registry
technologies, helping to develop ICD-O-3 and the
Collaborative Staging system and can bring that information
to her audiences in an uncomplicated, understandable
format.