A new report from the American Lung Association finds much more needs to be done to end the devastating burden of lung cancer on Iowa families. Kristina Hamilton, the association’s advocacy director for Iowa, says the “State of Lung Cancer” report looks at ten primary categories.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Iowa, while the report ranks Iowa 39th in the nation for its rate of new lung cancer cases. The report finds more than 16-percent of Iowa high schoolers use tobacco or e-cigarettes.
Hamilton says initiatives will be pushed in the state legislative session, which opens in January, to help discourage smoking in Iowa.
She says e-cigarettes are the only tobacco product sold in Iowa that’s not subject to a tax. While the report gives Iowa a thumbs-down grade on five of the ten key categories, Hamilton says the state is doing at least one thing that’s worthy of praise.
That testing looks for changes in the tumor’s DNA. The results of the test may show biomarkers that can help determine what treatment options would be best for an individual patient. Insurance coverage of biomarker testing is important for removing a cost barrier to people with lung cancer, but coverage for biomarker testing is only required in some states. The report found that Iowa does require insurance coverage of comprehensive biomarker testing. Find out more at www.Lung.org/solc.
