Zuli Garcia, the founder of food pantry Knock and Drop Iowa, was diagnosed in November 2023 with having HPV cells, which can cause cancer. 

“It’s really hard, dark times when you hear the word cancer,” said Garcia. “I remember texting my husband and saying, ‘I have cancer cells and they’re going to do a hysterectomy.’ And he’s calling me non-stop, and I’m not answering because I’m falling, I’m crying.” 

She had a hysterectomy, and learned the cancer didn’t spread. 

Since her diagnosis, she’s used the platform of her food pantry nonprofit to educate others about HPV and cervical cancer.

“I have a lot of partners that believe in me,” she said. “I go to a lot of conferences. I get a lot of connections. I learn a lot. I provide the information.”

She’s connected with women around the country, telling her story and providing information about the HPV vaccine, which she said protects people against six cancers.

Some women have not had the same luck as Garcia.

“Some of them have dealt with pre-authorization for a polyp removal,” she said. “Some of them have been waiting for a whole year [for] pre-authorization for a hysterectomy. Some of them have gone to chemo and they’ve had issues. Some of them have had their tumor so big, they can’t have it removed. I will say that I was very blessed. … I’m a firm believer in God. Then maybe there’s a reason why I go through this, because I need to educate others and help others advocate for themselves, and that’s how I’ve looked at it now, and that’s what I do now.”

Iowans across the state are stepping up to educate others about cancer rates in Iowa. Iowa has the second-highest cancer incidence rate in the nation and is one of two states where the rate is rising. Kentucky has the highest incidence rate, according to the National Cancer Institute. The following are snapshots of Iowans and organizations working to lower cancer rates and increase awareness about prevention and survivorship.

My City My Health

Corey Dion Lewis, founder and president

What it does

According to its website, My City My Health creates spaces where people can access information and take action around their health and well-being. The organization hosts conferences, community engagement projects, podcasts, newsletters and initiatives like Save the Homies, which, among other efforts, is focused on raising awareness about prostate cancer.

“Health equity is the foundation of who we are,” Lewis said. “It’s just the foundation. We start with, health justice, health equity … whether it be raising awareness around Black men’s health to raising awareness around some of the issues that our disabled brothers and sisters are going through within the community. …That is the foundation of how we start every initiative.”

Role in addressing cancer

“Cancer is touching so many families in the state,” Lewis said. “We’re focused on raising that awareness, especially because prostate cancer is very preventable, so asking the question, ‘Why are men dying from something that is so preventable?’”

Lewis said his organization is creating a documentary talking about “why the strongest man in the room was dying, and why the superheroes are dying.”

“And the answers, the things … these men are saying to me, is there’s this stigma of having to stay strong and, there’s a fear of going to the doctor, because every time you go to the doctor, there’s something wrong,” Lewis said. “Well, there’s something wrong because you’re waiting too long.”

He said prevention is not front of mind for a lot of men he and his team interviewed for the documentary.

“So breaking that stigma of around why prevention is important, and why it’s something so preventable, and how it’s treated.”

The future 

Lewis said his organization’s goal is to make sure 1,000 men get prostate cancer testing kits, called PSA kits, which stands for prostate-specific antigen tests, and are distributed through Johnson & Johnson.

The blood tests are available to men who are of eligible age for prostate exams (generally age 50, but 45 or even 40 for higher risk individuals, which can include Black men). The kits, which test PSA levels, are sent through the mail. 

“You prick your finger, mail [the test] back, and then a third party will contact you and let you know what your PSA levels are to determine if you need to go see your doctor, or if you have safe levels,” Lewis said. 

UnityPoint Health-John Stoddard Cancer Center

Sarah Zeidler, executive director, oncology services

What it does

UnityPoint Health-John Stoddard Cancer Center is a service of UnityPoint Health – Des Moines and according to its website is among the top-achieving cancer programs in the nation and has been recognized for its quality cancer care. 

Role in addressing cancer

The cancer center’s role in the conversation about cancer in Iowa is contained within four categories: cancer prevention, cancer screening, cancer treatment and survivorship, Zeidler said.

For example, in the cancer prevention category, the center makes sure the public is aware of evidence-based cancer prevention approaches, she said.

“There’s a lot of conversation about modifiable risk factors, including smoking, drinking, increasing activity, healthy diet,” Zeidler said. “They also talk about HPV vaccination, sun safety.”

In terms of cancer screening, the center is out in the community promoting evidence-based screening, she said. That includes reminding people to schedule their mammograms and informing people of their eligibility for lung cancer screenings. 

“At Stoddard, we also have several free screening programs for people who are uninsured or who don’t have access to screening for other reasons,” she said. “We have our Pink Day free mammogram program that’s offered all year long. We do a colonoscopy event where we provide free colonoscopies to eligible individuals. We have skin cancer screening a couple times a year. We’ve done oral and head and neck cancer screening.”

Cancer treatment is a key focus of the work done at Stoddard, she said.

“We know that our patients really value the team approach that Stoddard can provide,” she said. “They want to make sure their care providers act like a team.” 

Finally, Stoddard is focused on survivorship.

“We look at survivorship and as a state that has a high cancer incidence, we have a lot of cancer survivors, so we want to make sure those patients are supported after treatment, that their psychosocial needs are being met, and we’re also able to provide suggestions or solutions for managing long term side effects,” she said.

The future

“I would like to see more research into what is driving the increased cancer incidence and the high rates of cancer in the state,” Zeidler said. 

“We would like to have more evidence” as well as policies and funding that address the issue, she said.

The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement

Adam Shriver, director of wellness and nutrition policy

What it does

The Harkin Institute provides policymakers and the public with nonpartisan information and its primary focus includes four of the issue areas important to its founder, Sen.Tom Harkin: labor and employment, people with disabilities, retirement security, and wellness and nutrition, according to its website. 

Role in addressing cancer

The Harkin Institute, in partnership with the Iowa Environmental Council, recently released a report titled, “Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa’s Cancer Crisis,” which identified links between environmental risk factors, including pesticides, PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” nitrates and radon with increased cancer incidence and risk for numerous cancer types. 

Shriver said the collaborative effort kicked off in early 2025 and included hosting 15 listening sessions across Iowa.

“The idea was just like, ‘Let’s just gather all the information we can about the environmental side of things, and just get as up to speed as we can, so that we have the ability to assess how much we think this is playing a role, and that the public has access to all the information that they would need to think about the environmental side of things,’” Shriver said. 

The future

Shriver said the institute has plans to go to Washington, D.C., for a Senate briefing to talk about some of the issues discussed in the Iowa report. It’s important, Shriver said, to understand that many farming practices are tied to federal subsidies, and that financial incentives for or against certain practices come from the federal government and not the state government. 

“So there are some things that probably ultimately will have to come from federal policy discussions, and that could be things like the EPA reevaluating the standard of nitrates and drinking water,” Shriver said. “Or it could be things like passing laws that … shape a lot of the way farming is done in terms of how certain things are incentivized or not incentivized.”

He said beyond the briefing, he plans to return to Washington with the Iowa Environmental Council for more listening sessions, revisiting many places but also going to new places to “provide people with an opportunity to share their own stories, but also present the findings of our reports to them.”

American Cancer Society, Iowa and Nebraska chapters

Kevin Kann, executive director

What it does

The American Cancer Society has free programs and services to help people manage cancer treatment and recovery, as well as fundraising events and statistics about Iowa’s cancer incidence, mortality, survival rates, screening metrics and risk factors, according to its website.

Role in addressing cancer

“We really try to attack cancer from every angle,” said Kann. “We focus on research, patient support, advocacy and prevention.” 

For example, the society has about $1.27 million invested in cancer research in Iowa, “focusing on the entire cancer spectrum, everything from prevention to detection to survivorship to how do people do better with exercise,” Kann said. 

The cancer society also has several programs for people impacted by cancer currently, such as the Road to Recovery volunteer program, which provides free transportation for people who need rides to their treatment.

“We do transportation and lodging grants with cancer centers around the state so that they can provide gas cards and Uber rides and things like that,” Kann said. “And that’s over $100,000 there that we’ve invested in the state around transportation and lodging. And then we also have more than 30 Hope Lodges around the country, including one in Iowa City, where people can stay for free when they’re traveling for their treatment – cancer patients and caregivers.” 

The cancer society also does an action day at the Iowa Capitol, where it collaborates with multiple organizations, including the American Heart Association to American Lung Association as well as local cancer organizations, he said.

“We do try to approach it from a collaborative perspective in that regard, because everyone has the same end goal in mind,” Kann said.

The future

The cancer society is seeking more executive and CEO engagement in this conversation.

“How do we get more proactive in the space of wellness and prevention and early detection?” Kann said. 

He said employers can become engaged through a variety of avenues.

“There’s rewards and incentives to do that and to live healthy lifestyles and to make sure you’re out getting your steps and making good, healthy food choices,” he said. “Others, it’s again … creating reminders around screenings for our regular screenings so we can make sure we’re getting those mammograms and colonoscopies and other screenings around cancer. I think every business can approach it differently.”

Iowa Environmental Council

Sarah Green, executive director 

Kerri Johannsen, senior director of policy and programs 

Colleen Fowle, water program director

What it does

The Iowa Environmental Council is an environmental advocacy nonprofit organization in Iowa. According to its website, it is a nonpartisan coalition of organizations and individuals “working together to protect and preserve Iowa’s environment.” 

Role in addressing cancer

The council was the other half of the partnership with the Harkin Institute on the environmental risk factors report.

“We were receiving a lot of questions,” Green said. “It was, ‘Why are so many Iowans worried about cancer and what environmental risk factors deserve more attention and public understanding?’ … We had a lot of Iowans that knew of these issues, but they weren’t educated, they didn’t have the resources or they didn’t know where to have these conversations. … IEC being a neutral nonprofit organization with experts in the environmental space, felt like we were uniquely positioned to take on this conversation and take the lead.”

Fowle said that the IEC maintains close relationships with scientific researchers on a variety of topics.

“The connections between some of the pollutants in our environment and our cancer risk was coming up more and more in the conversations that we have within our own networks,” she said.

The future

Johannsen said the plan this summer is to travel around the state and educate people about the findings in the report the IEC did in collaboration with the Harkin Institute and “help them understand how to get involved in the process of reaching out to policymakers to let them know that they are concerned about this topic, how to be involved in that process.”

MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and the Richard Deming Cancer Center

Dr. Neil Horning, pulmonary and critical care physician 

What it does

MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and the Richard Deming Cancer Center offer “comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and patient-centered care” for cancer patients, a MercyOne spokesperson wrote in an email. “By having multiple services under one roof, it allows patients to meet with their entire care team at the same time to formulate a personalized care plan, reducing time from diagnosis to treatment.” New technologies help the center treat cancers that may have been untreatable or inoperable in the past, the spokesperson wrote.

Role in addressing cancer

Horning, a pulmonary and critical care physician, said he wants to get the word out about lung cancer screenings.

He said Medicare and insurance currently cover lung cancer screenings for people ages 50 to 77 who had a 20-pack-a-year history of smoking.

“[It] is smoking a pack a day for 20 years, or half a pack of cigarettes a day for 40 years,” he said.

Horning said he and his team have given lectures to other physician practice organizations, such as the Iowa Family Practice Association and the Iowa Osteopathic Medical Association.

“Unfortunately … we only screen like 18% to 20% of all Iowans that qualify,” he said. “We do even less for underserved populations, like Latinos. So while we need to get the word out to everybody, we really need to get the word out to underserved communities.” 

He said lung cancer screening has been shown to decrease mortality from lung cancer by 20%.

“We’re really trying to get the word out to the community about the importance of lung cancer screening,” he said. “Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer for both men and women. Here in Iowa, more men have prostate cancer, more women have breast cancer, but lung cancer kills the most. More men die from lung cancer than prostate cancer. More women die from lung cancer than breast cancer, and that’s still not quite in the front of people’s minds.”

The future

Horning’s goals are to increase the number of Iowans getting screened for lung cancer by increasing awareness of lung cancer screenings, both within the community and by reminding physicians and other providers of the importance of lung cancer screening. He also wants more outreach to underserved communities.

“An equal goal would be helping people understand the importance of smoking cessation,” he said. 

Iowa’s smoking rate is at 14%, above the national average, which has dropped in recent years to 10%.

Iowa Cancer Consortium

Kelly Wells Sittig, executive director

What it does

The Iowa Cancer Consortium is Iowa’s statewide comprehensive cancer coalition, according to its website.

“Our main goal is to convene partners, help build partnerships within cancer work, fill gaps where there are gaps, whether that’s in knowledge or resources,” Wells Sittig said.

Role in addressing cancer

Wells Sittig said one of the most important initiatives of the consortium is to develop the Iowa Cancer Plan, the state’s roadmap to a reduced burden of cancer in Iowa.

“We have a lot still to learn about why Iowa is No. 2 in cancer,” Wells Sittig said. “But there is also a lot we know that we can implement while we’re researching to understand cancer in Iowa even better. The cancer plan has been put together by cancer experts in Iowa and really outlines steps anyone can take. So whether that’s a policy maker, a health system, a doctor, a cancer survivor, a community, a school, really, that anyone can pick up and understand what they can do to help contribute to reducing the burden of cancer in Iowa.”

The Iowa Cancer Plan has five chapters that address health equity; prevention and risk reduction; early detection and screening; diagnosis and cancer-directed therapy; and survivorship and end of life care.

The future

The consortium is getting ready to revise the Cancer Plan, which it does every five years, Wells Sittig said.

“The landscape has changed quite a bit since we revised it about three to four years ago,” she said. “We now know that we’re No. 2 in cancer. There’s been more research done. There are more collaborative projects and work being done that can inform the Cancer Plan. We’ve grown partnerships, so we’ll have more people and perspectives to inform the Cancer Plan.”

Wells Sittig also said it’s important to think of all the players involved in the fight against cancer at all different levels.

“And through policy change, we just have to have so many people involved learning from each other, sharing resources, sharing knowledge,” she said. “That’s really where the Cancer Consortium comes in, is to try and keep those partnerships moving.”

---

UI Health Care’s Mission Cancer + Blood, relocates Des Moines clinic as part of statewide cancer care network

In 2024, oncology care provider Mission Cancer + Blood and University of Iowa Health Care announced an agreement to partner and create a statewide cancer care network to address Iowa’s elevated cancer rate.

Mission continues to provide services at its 21 locations in Iowa, with additional resources from UI Health Care and its National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. 

Mission and UI Health Care seek to address cancer in Iowa by providing opportunities for oncology specialists to work together to provide care locally and increase access to cancer detection, treatment and research across Iowa. Mission CEO Phil Stover said at the time of the announcement that the partnership would increase the number of patients with access to services and the latest treatments.

In April, Mission relocated its Des Moines clinic and outpatient pharmacy to the East Village, at 110 E. Court Ave. in downtown Des Moines.

The new facility, which began treating patients in December 2025, offers advanced cancer treatment and patient support services. 

“Delivering outstanding cancer care in Iowa is more important now than ever as we navigate high rates of cancer in our state,” Dr. Denise Jamieson, UI vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Carver College of Medicine, said in a prepared statement at the time. “Our legacy of cancer expertise across Iowa is only strengthened with Mission as a part of UI Health Care, especially as we work together to build a statewide network of cancer care.”