More Iowans are surviving cancer than ever before, but this population has unique needs that require specialized support from health care providers, communities, and caregivers, according to the 2025 Cancer in Iowa report issued by the Iowa Cancer Registry.

The annual report, produced by the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa, estimates there are nearly 172,000 cancer survivors currently living in Iowa, about 5.4% of the population. More than 20,000 people are newly diagnosed with cancer each year in the state.

With that growing survivorship number comes an array of needs, which can vary by cancer type and by each individual survivor. These needs can include:

• Screening for cancer recurrence and new cancers.
• Addressing late effects and delayed symptoms of cancer treatment.
• Quality-of-life considerations, with emphases on nutrition, physical activity/movement, tobacco use cessation, and mental health and social support services.

“Our goal with this year’s Cancer in Iowa report is to get people thinking about what cancer survivors’ needs are and how we can best address those needs,” says Sarah Nash, assistant professor in epidemiology in the College of Public Health at Iowa and director of research at the Iowa Cancer Registry. “We know that cancer survivorship resources are underdeveloped across the United States as well as in Iowa. So, how can we work together to bolster the resources that we already have and provide resources in areas that we don’t?”

The report notes that Iowa continues to have the second-highest rate of newly diagnosed cancers, when adjusted for differences in age among U.S. states. More than one in 20 people in Iowa have had a diagnosis of cancer at some point in their lives, the report states. That ratio will continue to rise as Iowa’s rate of new cancer rises while the rate of cancer deaths declines, the report’s authors say.

Those numbers can put a strain on services and personnel. Nash recommends that providers and cancer survivors consult the Iowa Cancer Plan. Created by the Iowa Cancer Consortium and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state agencies, the Iowa Cancer Plan serves as a guidebook of sorts about entities, services, and individuals involved in helping cancer survivors.

“When I think about what we can do as Iowans, my first port of call is the Iowa Cancer Plan,” Nash says. “That plan has overarching priorities and specific strategies that anybody interested in supporting Iowa’s cancer survivors can look to.”

Research also is helping improve the kind of care cancer survivors need. Jess Gorzelitz, assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Physiology at Iowa, operates a lab in which she investigates how cancer survivors who are introduced to muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise can improve their functional strength and quality of life.

“We know that people, after they finish cancer treatment, have reductions in their strength and function, and that can be a risk factor for other health conditions and premature death,” says Gorzelitz, who opened her research lab when she joined the department in August 2022. “So, we think it’s really important to use exercise as a supplementary strategy to help people live their best lives and ultimately to reduce the burden of cancer.”

Her findings so far have been promising: Up to 70% of research participants in her lab have improved their fitness at a clinically significant clip, translating into these cancer survivors having up to a 40% lower risk of mortality.

“Most people don’t think, ‘I go lift today so that I can live another two years,’” Gorzelitz says. “But from the epidemiological perspective, it’s quite a powerful medicine.”

The Cancer in Iowa report includes county-by-county statistics, summaries of new research projects, and a special section focused on cancer survivorship. All information in the report is available online or by calling the registry at 319-335-8609.

The Cancer in Iowa report is a product of the Iowa Cancer Registry, which collects cancer data on all Iowa residents. The Iowa Cancer Registry is funded in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, as well as by the University of Iowa and the state of Iowa.