The new Cancer in Iowa Report aims to raise awareness about how the state needs to immediately start planning for the future to care for the quickly rising number of cancer survivors. Dr. Sarah Nash is the research director of the Iowa Cancer Registry and an epidemiology professor at the University of Iowa. Nash says more than 21,000 Iowans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and as survival rates rise, there needs to be an increase in healthcare professionals to handle their unique needs.
Nash says Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the country, behind only Kentucky, and Iowa has the fastest-rising rate of new cancer cases. The report says 171,000 Iowans are now considered cancer survivors, or about one in every 20 residents, and they’ll need long-term medical attention.
Nash says this edition of the annual Cancer in Iowa Report lays out projections for cancer incidence during 2025.
The Iowa Cancer Registry has tracked cancer cases, survival rates, and deaths from cancer in the state since 1973. Last year’s report showed Iowa’s cancer mortality rate would fall by 100 cases, but this year’s projected rate of deaths rose.
The report allows doctors and researchers to focus on how to prevent and treat cancer, she says, and it provides Iowans with the knowledge they need to get advanced screening and improve survival rates across the board. www.shri.public-health.uiowa.edu/.
