Date of Diagnosis

Field Length: 8

Enter the month, day, and year of the initial diagnosis.

This field refers to the date of first diagnosis of this cancer by a recognized medical practitioner. This is the date of the first clinical diagnosis, and in some cases, the diagnosis may never be histologically confirmed. Do not change the date of diagnosis when a later biopsy or cytology provides confirmation of a clinical diagnosis.  From 2009 forward, for cases which are diagnosed in utero, record the actual date of diagnosis.  For pre-2009 cases, the date of diagnosis for in utero cases should be the date of birth.  

Code the date using a zero to precede single digit days, or months, i.e., June is entered as 06.

If the exact date is not known, record the best approximation on the basis of available information. As possible guidelines, consider the following:

a.        For patients diagnosed without positive tissue while in a hospital, the date of admission may be used as the best estimate of the date of diagnosis.

b.        For patients diagnosed before entering the hospital (i.e., clinic or physician's office), the date of first admission may be used if it seems that the patient was hospitalized within three months or less from the true date of diagnosis by the referring physician.

c.        If the only information is "Spring of", "Middle of the year", or "Fall", approximate these as April 1st, July 1st, or October 1st, respectively.

The date of death is the date of diagnosis for a class of case 38.