Statewide Iowa — February is Cancer Prevention Month and a new survey finds Iowans still aren’t getting the message about the biggest cancer risks.
Doctor Nigel Brockton, vice president of research at the American Institute for Cancer Research, says the widespread lack of awareness in the state, and nation, is astounding.
The obesity rate is quickly rising in Iowa. The latest surveys find 35-percent of Iowa adults are obese, a big jump up from 20-percent in the year 2000.
The “Cancer in Iowa” report in 2019 from the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health estimated two in every five Iowans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. It predicted more than 18-thousand Iowans would be diagnosed with cancer during the year and that 64-hundred Iowans would die from cancer. The website for the American Institute for Cancer Research has a Cancer Health Check and Brockton says all Iowans could benefit from taking the three-minute screening.
The online tool, according to Brockton, can help people assess their lifestyle choices and learn how to live healthier lives.
To find the online Cancer Health Check, visit https://www.aicr.org/
To view the University of Iowa Report CLICK HERE.
