Dignified Termination of Duty for Director Frøydis Langmark

Frøydis Langmark retired as Director of the Cancer Registry of Norway 4 January 2011. On the 6 of January she was honored by Norway’s public sector with a dignified ceremony in Gamle Logen in Oslo.

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English translation: barbara.mortensen@kreftregisteret.no

The occasion was marked at the Cancer Registry on her 70th birthday the 4 of January 2011, which also was her last day as Director. Officially, the end of 28 years of service as Director was however carried out in the concert hall at Gamle Logen on 6 January 2011. There, 259 colleagues, family, friends and representatives from public administration, research, health care and business and industry had turned out to pay tribute to her contributions and commitment to cancer care.

Health Director Bjørn-Inge Larsen and other speakers pointed to Frøydis Langmark’s considerable role as an institution builder. “She has built up a unique research environment and is a world leader in this field. When she took over as Director in 1983 the Cancer Registry was located in a few rooms at the Norwegian Radium Hospital. After 28 years with Langmark at the helm the Cancer Registry is today an institute with over 140 highly qualified coworkers who run one of the most complete health registries of this kind in the world. Larsen also brought up the fact that the Cancer Registry of Norway has evolved to become much more than a traditional registering institution. The Institute is also responsible for running screening programs for cervical- and breast cancer and an important contributor in research on cancer causes.”

Assistant Director Camilla Stoltenberg at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health characterized Frøydis Langmark as a role model and a pioneer in the development of medical quality registries. Also, that the Cancer Registry has established a standard in relation to quality and completeness which would be natural that other quality registries should strive to achieve.

Cofounder and long time Head of Nordic Society for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (NOPHO), Professor emeritus Sverre O. Lie presented Frøydis Landmark’s efforts in NOPHO. “She has been a facilitator in the establishment of a common Nordic treatment regime for children’s cancer. This has led to the Nordic countries having the highest survival rates for the four most common cancer types in children in Europe.

Several of the speakers commended Frøydis Langmark as a charismatic and in some ways untraditional leader and a highly profiled person in cancer circles, and also within public debates and in the media. She has been a fearless and strong debater and the foundation for her opinions has always been driven by a burning commitment to the issues she firmly believes in.

Many also commended her as a public educator. Through extensive speeches Langmark has contributed in promoting the Cancer Registry as an institution and increased knowledge regarding causes of cancer and prevention.