In 1973, the Michigan Cancer Foundation’s cancer registry was invited to join the National Cancer Institute’s  (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program.

The SEER Program provides information on cancer statistics in an effort to reduce the cancer burden among the U.S. population. SEER is supported by the Surveillance Research Program (SRP) in NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS).

SEER collects data on cancer cases from various locations and sources throughout the United States. Data collection began in 1973 with a limited number of registries and continues to expand to include even more areas and demographics today.