New Iowa cancer plan to be unveiled next week

IOWA CITY  – Iowa will soon unveil a new plan to provide direction for the state's cancer initiatives, but one thing hasn't changed.

“There are still a lot of Iowans dying from tobacco exposure,” said Dr. George Weiner, president of the Iowa Cancer Consortium and director of the University of Iowa's Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. “We still have a long way to go.”

Every year, one-third of the more than 6,000 cancer deaths in Iowa are caused by tobacco, Weiner said.

Making progress against tobacco exposure and other causes of cancer is among the goals of the 2012-2017 Iowa Cancer Plan, which will be released next week during the Iowa Cancer Summit.

The plan, an update of the 2006-2011 document, provides direction for people involved in cancer control programs, research and policy, as well as a resource for Iowans needing support and advocacy.

Screening, early detection, research and treatment are among the topics addressed in the plan.

“The approaches we listed before are still valid,” Weiner said, adding that the plan continually evolves as new information is discovered.

A prime example is in research, he said, where scientists are finding that treatments can be tailored for individual cancer patients.

“It's both exciting and intimidating because we're not likely to find one cure for everyone,” Weiner said.

Screenings are similar.

“We do know that screening saves lives,” Weiner said, but general guidelines of when those are needed do not necessarily apply to everyone. People with a family history of cancer, for example, should discuss with their doctor to see if earlier exams are warranted, he said.

One change from the previous plan is a greater emphasis on the dangers of radon, a naturally occurring, invisible and odorless radioactive gas.

Radon exposure is the leading cause of non-smoking lung cancer.

Weiner said Iowa has seen a steady decrease in lung cancer as tobacco use has decreased and improvements since Iowa's Smokefree Air Act went into effect in 2008.

Smokers see an immediate improvement in cardiovascular health when they quit smoking, he said, so there was a noticeable drop in heart attacks after smoking was banned in public places in Iowa.

Weiner said there is a lag, however, in the formation of cancer.

“We're just hitting that point now,” he said.

Funding of smoking cessation programs has been a point of contention in state budget planning. Weiner said a companion document to the Iowa Cancer Plan will outline implementation costs.

In the previous plan, just over $99 million was the price tag put on prevention, screening, treatment, quality of life and research, along with overarching goals.

All of the efforts require private and public partnerships, Weiner said.

“If we had the political will to do it, we could do it easily,” he said.

FYI:

The Iowa Cancer Summit, open to anyone, will be Monday, Oct. 3, and Tuesday, Oct. 4, at the West Des Moines Marriott.

Among the presentations will be a panel discussion with three cancer survivors.

For details, see: http://bit.ly/IowaCancerSummit

The 2012-2017 Iowa Cancer Plan will be available after its release at:

www.CancerIowa.org