More Iowans Will Be Diagnosed With Cancer, Fewer Will Die From It

The Iowa Cancer Registry is marking its 50th year and celebrating the fact cancer is much less deadly in Iowa today than in 1973 when the first report was published. Registry director Mary Charlton, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa, credits decades of advances in medicine, treatment and early screening technology.

Early detection is the best defense against cancer, she says. Fifty years ago, about ten-thousand cancer cases were being diagnosed each year statewide, while today, it’s more than 20,000. While more Iowans are being told they have cancer than five decades ago, many more are now surviving the fight.

There was troubling news in the report, as new national rankings now show Iowa has the second highest rate of new cancer cases in the U.S.

The annual 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 advance screening and improve survival rates across the board.

The report projects 20,800 Iowans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, an increase of 800 from last year. It also forecasts 6,200 Iowans will die from cancer this year, a drop of 100 from a year ago. See the full report here: https://shri.public-health.uiowa.edu/