Objection

  • Who can submit an objection to registration?

    Only the patient herself/himself (or her/his legal representative) can submit an objection.

  • How can patients object registration?

    A patient must submit a refusal in writing to a cantonal cancer registry or to the Childhood Cancer Registry. The refusal must contain the following information on the patient objecting registration: first name, family name, address, date of birth, AHV number, date, and signature. The mere statement of the patient to the doctor that the registration is not desired is NOT sufficient. Forms for filing an objection are available on the webpages of the cancer registries (https://www.nacr.ch/en/partners-health-care/cancer-registries/).

  • Can a patient submit a refusal at any time?

    Yes! No data are collected in the cancer registry if the refusal is submitted within three months from the time when the diagnosis is established. The available data are anonymised if the refusal is submitted later.

  • Does the patient receive a confirmation of the refusal?

    Yes! The responsible cancer registry sends a written confirmation when a patient submits a refusal of the registration.

  • Is the objection valid until the death of the patient, or beyond death?

    An objection is valid beyond death. This also applies if a cancer registry becomes aware of a diagnosis of cancer through mortality statistics of the Federal Statistical Office.

  • What happens to the data in case of an objection?

    Three different categories of data exist that need to be considered by the cancer registry in case of an objection, leading to the following three scenarios:

    a) The original data transmitted to the cancer registry by persons or institutions under obligation to report, or data that might be in the future, is deleted immediately in every case.

    b) In case information is already present in the data bank of the cancer registry at the time of objection, this data is anonymised. No subsequent data is registered after the objection.

    c) The letter or form that was sent to the cancer registry to submit the objection is deleted after sending a confirmation to the person that submitted the request. Age, gender and place of residence as well as any explanation for the objection are forwarded to the NACR for statistical purposes.

  • Can an objection be revoked at a later time?

    An objection can be revoked without explanation at a later time by informing the cancer registry in writing as mentioned previously.

    Any related cancer data would only be transmitted if a new report was made to the cancer registry.