Iowa health leaders urged legislative action and lifestyle changes Tuesday night in Des Moines at a presentation about cancer in Polk County, where 827 people die of cancer each year on average, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry.
Iowa has the second highest rate of newly diagnosed cancers of all U.S. states, which is 14% higher than the national rate. Polk County is one of 59 Iowa counties with a cancer rate above the national rate. The county’s cancer incidence rate ranks at No. 53 of Iowa’s 99 counties.
“About 1 in 4 Polk County residents who die every year die by cancer,” said Juliann Van Liew, director of the Polk County Health Department. “This is not something that is experienced in every county or every state across the nation. It’s worse here in Polk County. It’s worse here in Iowa.”…