Iowa’s Cancer Rate is Rising, so The Best Defense is to Get Screened
Health studies project more than 21,000 new cancer cases will be diagnosed in Iowans next year, while 6,300 Iowans will die from cancer, and both numbers are rising.
Jody Hoyos, CEO of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, says the best defense is getting routine checkups and cancer screenings, and she suggests making it a New Year’s resolution to schedule an appointment.
“Just 51% of adults in the U.S. have had a routine medical appointment or routine cancer screening in the last year,” Hoyos says. “The challenge with this is we’re seeing a decline in the number of people going to these routine appointments, a 10-percentage point drop from our 2024 survey.”
In Iowa, breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers account for about half of all cancer cases. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in Iowa, making up about one out of every four cancer deaths.
“Fundamentally, many people don’t realize they need to be screened,” Hoyos says. “And that’s especially true if they aren’t experiencing any symptoms or they don’t have a family history of cancer.”
Hoyos says screenings should happen before symptoms appear because early detection can mean more treatment options.
“Routine screenings are important for everyone, even if you really know your body and you feel like you would know if something’s going on,” Hoyos says. “Very often, cancer doesn’t show any signs or symptoms in the early stages.”
The Cancer in Iowa Report, released each February, shows Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the country, behind Kentucky, and the fastest-rising rate of new cancer cases. The 2025 report says about 171,000 Iowans are considered cancer survivors, or about one in every 20 Iowans.
