Blog

Mental Health & Cancer: Implications and Strategies for Comprehensive Care

By: Mona McCalley-Whitters, PhD A cancer diagnosis is a life-changing experience, bringing forth a range of emotions from fear and anxiety to depression. Such mental stressors can directly impact a patient’s quality of life, their adherence to treatment, and even survival rates (National Cancer Institute). An Overview: Stress & Cancer Stress describes what people experience…

Iowa Cancer Consortium 2023 Annual Report

According to the Iowa Cancer Registry, Iowa’s cancer incidence rate grew faster than any other state from 2016 to 2020, and Iowa continues to have the second-highest overall cancer incidence in the United States (source: 2024 Cancer in Iowa Report).  The call to work together is greater than ever before. In 2024, an estimated 21,000…

Iowa Cancer Consortium Creates Resource to Connect Iowans with Cancer Clinical Trials

CORALVILLE, IA – April 8, 2024 – Partners across the state are working together to ensure that there is one resource for Iowans to locate and find information about cancer clinical trials in the state. Clinical trials are research studies that identify the best ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer. While many trials exist…

Free Transportation to Cancer Treatments: American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery® Program

Written by: Liz Orton, Iowa Cancer Consortium When someone is diagnosed with cancer, they may experience a multitude of concerns. Will I be okay? How will I pay for my treatment? Can I take the necessary time off of work for my treatment plan? What side effects will I have? How will this affect my…

Meet Megan Hartwig, Rural Community Outreach Coordinator

Hello, I’m Megan Hartwig, and I’m excited to be a part of the Iowa Cancer Consortium team as the Rural Community Outreach Coordinator. I have a healthcare administration and public health background and served as the State Office of Rural Health director. One of the things I enjoyed the most while working at the State…

Meet Delaney Robinson, Practicum Student

Hello! My name is Delaney Robinson, and I am currently completing my practicum experience at the Iowa Cancer Consortium! For my project, I will be assisting with the Annual Redesign of the 2023-2027 Iowa Cancer Plan by developing new and updating existing components of the plan. I am very excited to be working with such…

Introducing the Iowa Cancer Consortium’s Cancer and the Environment Task Force

The Iowa Cancer Consortium has worked for over 20 years to connect partners who seek to understand the changing landscape of cancer control in Iowa. Recently, Consortium members have come together to create the ‘Cancer and the Environment Task Force’ to examine the relationship between Iowa’s landscape itself and cancer in the state. The growing…

What Cancer Control Partners Need to Know about the 2024 Iowa Legislative Session

Updated May 10, 2024 The 2024 Iowa legislative session officially ended at 4:23 a.m. on Saturday, April 20. Below is a summary of cancer-control-related legislation that successfully passed out of both chambers since our last update and has either been signed into law by the governor or is awaiting her signature. As always, this list is…

Celebrating Black History Month: Changemakers in the History of Cancer and Medicine

This Black History Month, we at the Iowa Cancer Consortium would like to take a moment to recognize several Black and African American changemakers in the history of cancer and medicine, especially here in Iowa. There are many historical and modern icons to celebrate and these are just a few. We would like to note…

Clearing the Air: Radon Myths & Facts

Coralville, IA – In a tradition spanning 35 years, Governor Kim Reynolds proclaimed January as Radon Action Month in Iowa on January 8, 2024. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas from the ground that can seep into homes and buildings, and is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco. Governor Kim Reynolds is…