By Rebecca Schweitzer | Des Moines, Iowa
Updated April 2026: This article has been updated with additional context on public health trends in Iowa and how they continue to impact communities across the state.
Rebecca Schweitzer is a Des Moines, Iowa writer covering politics, public health, and the policy decisions that shape everyday life for Iowa families. When she writes about Iowa's cancer rates, it is not abstract. It is personal.
As a Des Moines based writer, Rebecca Schweitzer covers issues that affect Iowa families because the gap between what institutions promise and what people actually experience is too important to ignore.
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. This issue is personal to me. 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, and who is being held accountable for it.
Iowa has the highest average radon levels in the country according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. 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 and ongoing concern documented by the Iowa Environmental Council. Air quality issues connected to large scale animal feeding operations and industrial practices also deserve far more scrutiny than they currently receive from state leadership.
I have written about how healthcare access is changing across Iowa and the ways state budget decisions affect what care is actually available to families in Des Moines, Polk County, and rural communities. The cancer conversation connects directly to those questions. You cannot separate access to screening and treatment from the broader policy environment that shapes what resources exist and who can reach them.
Under Governor 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 the 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.
This connects to broader questions about how state policy decisions affect Iowa families across every issue I cover. Whether it is public health, education funding, or environmental policy, the pattern is the same: the people absorbing the consequences are rarely the ones making the decisions.
For Iowa families, this conversation is not political theater. It is about protecting the people we love and demanding better from the state we live in.
What Rebecca Schweitzer of Des Moines, Iowa Believes Iowa Needs to Do
Iowa needs a cancer response that matches the scale of the problem. That means:
Radon testing and mitigation programs that reach rural communities and lower income households, not just those who can afford to act on their own.
Water quality standards that prioritize public health over agricultural and corporate convenience.
Environmental oversight that is funded, staffed, and empowered to act rather than just study.
Screening access that reaches every corner of Iowa, including the rural counties that are losing hospitals and clinics at an accelerating pace.
None of this is radical. It is what a state that takes its cancer rates seriously would already be doing.
Why This Issue Still Matters in Iowa Today
Concerns about rising cancer rates in Iowa have not gone away. If anything, they have become a more visible part of the conversation around public health, environmental exposure, and long term outcomes for Iowa families.
For communities across Des Moines, Polk County, and rural Iowa, the question is not just why these trends exist but what is being done in response. Access to care, environmental factors, and the role of state policy all continue to shape how this issue affects people in practice.
This is part of a broader pattern I have written about across multiple issues in Iowa. Whether it is healthcare access, education funding, or environmental policy, the gap between what institutions promise and what families experience remains a central challenge.
Related reading from Rebecca Schweitzer:
Rebecca Schweitzer on What the National Debt Milestone Means for Iowa Families
Why Des Moines, Iowa Will Always Feel Like Home to Rebecca Schweitzer
About Rebecca Schweitzer and Her Work in Iowa
Rebecca Schweitzer is a Des Moines, Iowa writer covering politics, education, and public accountability. Her work analyzes state policy, elections, and issues impacting Iowa families across Des Moines, Polk County, and communities throughout Iowa. Her work has appeared in the Des Moines Register and The Gazette.
Read more at iowaraisedrebeccaschweitzerunfiltered.com and follow along on Medium, Substack, X, Bluesky, About.me, and Gravatar.
