Thinking of changing career from Medical Tech to coder - (possibly Certified Tumor Regsitrar) - is it worth it?

Hi all,
I have been an ASCP certified Medical Technologist for 10 years and also received my Master in Public Health in 2001 and worked for 5 years in child health policy research. I returned to Med Tech after my kids were born so that I could have a less stressfull, part time job. I have 2 more years before my children are in school full time and I am looking at other career opportunities. I enjoy being a med tech (working independently, little patient contact, don't bring work home), but I feel there is no place to advance. I enjoy working with data in research, but not the public heatlh aspect - I am more interested in the clinical side.

My background and interests are in hematology/oncology and I am currently a part time med tech in an outpatient cancer center. Searching the internet and jobs, I have come across the certified cancer registrar/Cancer Registry Management jobs. I am wondering if it makes sense to get certified and start a new career. With a BS and MPH, where would I start? I'm hoping for not more than a year of training before getting certified. As far as getting a job, would my healthcare background help me at all or would I be starting from step 1?

I feel like the work itself would be a good fit for me but as a med tech in my area I can make roughly $55k a year. Would a job in Cancer coding be a step up, comprarable or step down and what about advancements? Thanks for your help.

Like you, I also have a BS and MPH. And, I also found this career while searching jobs and the internet and it seemed like something I'd enjoy and would be less stressful than my current job. I've been working in the toxicology field part time while my kids were young, but now I'm finding I'd like to switch out of this field. I was wondering the same thing about where to start when I already have these two degrees and how long it would take. I get the impression the starting pay would be far below your current $55K/year though. Any one out there able to help us?