Duty to inform

The medical professional who makes the diagnosis informs the patient or legal representative of the data subject about the registration for each new tumour and documents the date of the information.

The information is provided orally and in writing. The patient must be informed verbally about the transfer of their data to the responsible cancer registry and the right to object. For written information, the National Agency for Cancer Registration provides brochures in 14 languages as well as in easy-to-understand German, French and Italian. The printed brochures can be ordered in the three national languages, German, French and Italian, as well as in English. The brochure is available in printed form in German, French and Italian in easy-to-understand language. All language versions are available for download as PDFs.

It is at the discretion of the medical professional to determine when the appropriate time for the information is. However, the information about cancer registration should be provided as soon as possible after the diagnosis has been communicated. 

Information must be provided about the reporting of data to the responsible cantonal cancer registry, the purpose of cancer registration, as well as the right to object. Whether an objection is made is at the sole discretion of the patient or the legal representative of the data subject. The patient must submit the objection in writing to a cancer registry.

Informing a data subject or their legal representative about cancer registration as well as the documentation and reporting of the information date serves to safeguard the patient's rights pursuant to the Cancer Registration Act.