Articles Tagged: Cancer

A quarterly health publication.

Robotic surgery was first introduced in the late 20th century and has long since found its place in the medical community. Yet despite its considerable use, robotic surgery is often misunderstood by patients.

The issues illustrate the legislative divide between Republican leaders in the Iowa House and Senate, which was apparent Thursday as legislation neared the second “funnel” deadline of the 2025 session.

Also, the Iowa House halted a bill that would have changed the makeup of boards that nominate Iowa judges.

Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is leading a legal brief in support of President Donald Trump’s executive order to redefine birthright citizenship. Also in the Notebook, Iowans rally in opposition to a bill shielding pesticide companies from lawsuits over cancer risks.

Disability benefits for Iowa firefighters and police officers would be expanded to cover all cancers — beyond the 14 currently covered — under legislation that advanced Monday in the Iowa Senate, the place where previous attempts to move the proposal have faltered.

Agriculture chemical companies would be protected from lawsuits over warning labeling on their products to inform consumers of health risks under a bill passed by the Iowa Senate Wednesday. This bill is now headed to the House, which did not take up a similar bill that was passed by the Senate last year.

Also, Senate Republicans once again approved bills banning citizen police review boards and adding a gubernatorial nominee to district judicial nominating commissions

About a quarter of Iowans would no longer pay co-pays and deductibles for supplemental and diagnostic breast exams under legislation that unanimously passed the Iowa House and advanced Wednesday in the Iowa Senate. But insurers say health care costs would rise for everyone.

A group of Des Moines firefighters and their family members filled a legislative committee room last week at the Iowa Capitol, hopeful that this will be the year lawmakers pass legislation to expand medical coverage for firefighters who develop cancer on the job. While a House bill passed unanimously through committee, the Senate bill was removed from a committee agenda.

Charles Benbrook told an Iowa City audience this week that the state’s agriculture is too pesticide intensive, and the chemicals are “harming the soil, harming public health, and it is harming fish populations and birds and the deer.”

With Iowa maintaining the second-highest rate and fastest-growing rate of new cancers nationally, advancements in treatment has its count of cancer survivors up in the state to 171,535 in 2025 — up from 168,610 in 2024.

Just like bars and restaurants in the state, smoking would be prohibited inside Iowa casinos under legislation that took a step forward Tuesday.

Iowa has the fastest-growing rate of new cancers and ranks second-highest in cancer rates compared with other states. That has caught the attention of some Iowa lawmakers, who are aiming to address the problem with proposed legislation.

Also, Iowans protest bill that would shield pesticide companies over failure to warn consumers about health risks of their products