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Iowa’s Black population has the highest mortality rate in almost every major cause of death, including cancer, when compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
Cancer is also striking Black Iowans at a younger age, with Black Iowans experiencing the highest cancer incidence rate of all racial and ethnic groups between 50 and 79 years old.
Concerns over racial and ethnic disparities in cancer are the focus of the 2021 Cancer in Iowa report, issued by the Iowa Cancer Registry earlier this week. On this episode of
River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with experts about these newly reported findings. Advocates Cathy Ketton and ShanQuiesha Robinson also join the program to discuss efforts to support women of color experiencing breast cancer in the Cedar Valley through their organization, Splash of Color Breast Cancer Support Group.
Black people in Iowa develop and die from cancer at higher rates than their neighbors, according to an annual report from researchers at the University of Iowa.
“The causes of these disparities are deeply ingrained in our society, and it will take significant effort at many levels over a long period of time to address them,” Dr. George Weiner, the director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa s Hospitals and Clinics, told reporters. “If we are able to do so successfully, it will benefit all Iowans.”
Weiner and the co-authors of the report presented their findings, with a focus on racial disparities, during a virtual panel Wednesday morning.