Rebecca Schweitzer Iowa: Why Iowa’s Rising Cancer Rates Demand a Broader Response

When people search Rebecca Schweitzer Iowa, I want them to understand what I care about and why this issue matters so deeply to me.

Governor Kim Reynolds has proposed increasing taxes on cigarettes and vaping products. That is a positive step. Tobacco use remains one of the leading causes of preventable death, and Iowa continues to have a smoking rate above the national average. Raising prices is proven to reduce smoking, especially among young people.

But Iowa’s cancer crisis is bigger than tobacco.

Iowa now has one of the highest cancer incidence rates in the nation, and we are one of the only states where rates are still increasing. As Rebecca Schweitzer, an Iowa resident who has lived in both rural communities and Des Moines, this issue is personal. Multiple members of my family have faced leukemia, breast cancer, skin cancer and ovarian cancer. Watching loved ones go through diagnosis and treatment changes how you see public health. It makes you ask why our state continues to rank so poorly.

Iowa has the highest average radon levels in the country. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer and the leading cause among nonsmokers. At the same time, nitrate contamination in water sources, largely tied to agricultural runoff, remains a serious concern. Air quality issues connected to large scale animal feeding operations and industrial practices also deserve scrutiny.

Under Governor Kim Reynolds, state leadership has often resisted stronger environmental regulations and made it easier for large corporate and agricultural interests to operate with limited oversight. If we are serious about lowering cancer rates in Iowa, we must look beyond tobacco and address environmental factors contributing to disease.

Raising tobacco taxes is a start. But Iowa needs a comprehensive, science based approach that includes environmental accountability, stronger water protections, radon mitigation efforts and real transparency about what is entering our air, land and water.

For Rebecca Schweitzer in Iowa, this conversation is not political theater. It is about protecting families, strengthening communities and demanding better for our state