Iowa has a cancer problem.
The state has the second-highest cancer rate in
the country. From 2018 through 2022, it averaged 499 new cases for every
100,000 people. The national average was 449.
If you packed 100,000 people into a football
stadium, 50 more Iowans would get cancer than the average American crowd.
Only Kentucky has a higher rate.
Here’s what should really bother Iowans. Cancer
rates have been dropping across much of the country, but Iowa is going the
other way.
The 2026 Cancer in Iowa report estimates 21,700
Iowans will be diagnosed with invasive cancer this year—6,400 will die from it.
Five years ago, the state estimated 18,900 new cases.
Iowa is getting older, and cancer is more common
as people age. Researchers know that. That’s why cancer rates are adjusted for
age, making it possible to compare Iowa fairly with younger states.
Even after that adjustment, Iowa is still near the
bottom of the pack.
Researchers know which cancers are driving the
numbers. Figuring out why is proving much harder.
Melanoma is one of the biggest problems.
