Cancer in Ringgold County Week 3: What we can do
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By Darrell Dodge
In her August 27 presentation to county residents, Dr. Mary Charlton, director of the Iowa Cancer Registry (ICR) presented data revealing that Ringgold County ranks 38th out of Iowa’s 99 counties in rates of new cancers and fourth in the number deaths attributed to cancer.
In fact, cancer is the No. 2 cause of death in the county.
Along with the data, Dr. Charlton offered several common recommendations that individuals can take to lessen their risk of cancer, including such actions as limiting alcohol consumption, eating a healthy diet, being physically active, decrease excess body weight, avoiding too much sun exposure and getting vaccinated against Hepatitis B and HPV.
Dr. Charlton stressed the importance of regular screenings and check-ups to catch cancer in its early stages where it is most treatable.
Breast cancer
The ICR recommends women between the ages of 40-74 should screen with a mammogram every two years, perhaps more frequently if a history of cancer runs in the family.
Currently, only 78% of women in Ringgold County aged 50-plus are up to date with their breast cancer screens.
Of those breast cancers diagnosed, 40% come in the late stage.
The “Care for Yourself – Breast and Cervical Cancer Program provides free breast and cervical cancer screenings for eligible Iowa women.
The program is open to Iowans between 21 and 64 years of age who earn a maximum of 250% of the Federal Poverty Level ($39,125 per individual plus $5,500 for each additional individual in a family).
Prostate cancer
The ICR recommends that men 55-69 discuss with their medical profession if a Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is warranted based on potential warning signs.
Typical warning signs include changes in urinary function, including blood in the urine, lower torso pain, fatigue and weight loss.
Fortunately, 79% of prostate diagnoses in Ringgold County come in the early stage.
Lung cancer
The lung cancer rate in Ringgold County far exceeds both state and the national rates.
The ICR recommends individuals between the ages of 50-80 who have smoked in the last 15 years to talk to their doctors about screening for lung cancer usually with a low-dose CT scan.
The ICR reports that only 17% of eligible Iowans have been screened for lung cancer, and 82% in Ringgold County are diagnosed in late stage.
Smoking, though, is not the only cause of lung cancer.
ICR reports exposure to radon is the No. 2 cause of lung cancer in the state.
Moreover, people who smoke and are exposed to radon are at a 10 to 20 times higher risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers.
According to the American Lung Association, radon is a colorless, tasteless and odorless gas that permeate up through the ground. All of Iowa is at a very high potential for elevated levels of radon.
Radon test kits or professional contractors are available to measure the radon in a residence. If dangerous levels of radon are detected, increasing ventilation levels in basements and crawl spaces and sealing cracks in foundations are the most common methods to reduce radon levels.
Colorectal cancer
The ICR recommends that adults ages 45-75 get screened for colorectal cancer.
These screens include an at-home, stool-based test or a colonoscopy.
Only 66% Ringgold County residents at up-to-date with their colorectal screening, and 72% of diagnosed colorectal cancers are late stage.
Local health agencies and Iowa’s Federally Qualified Health Centers offer a program to provide screenings for eligible low-income Iowans.
Governmental mitigations
Beyond what individuals can do to protect themselves, Dr. Charlton listed some actions state government could take to lessen the cancer risk for the state as a whole.
For example, she noted the cigarette tax in Iowa has not be increased since 2007. Since that time, smoking rates have decreased in 92% of Iowa counties.
Ringgold County is one of the eight counties where the rate did not decrease.
“Increasing that tobacco tax would probably be the single most effective thing we as a state could do,” Charlton said.
She noted the most recent session of the Iowa legislature failed to address proposed legislation to mitigate cancer risks statewide, including landlords providing radon testing on their properties, banning minors from using tanning beds and setting a minimum per unit price on liquor.
“None of them passed, nothing, not one, not one thing,” Charlton said. “We are not behaving as a state with the second highest cancer incidence rate and one of the only states with a rising cancer incidence rate. Only way we’re going to change that is people like you talk to your local and state elected officials and say … this is important to us, and we want to see something done at the policy level.”
For more information, visit Iowa Cancer Consortium online at www.canceriowa.org
