Six months ago, Alex Hammer was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 37. Dianne Chambers endured surgery, chemotherapy and dozens of rounds of radiation to fight aggressive breast cancer, and Janan Haugen spends most days helping care for her 16-year-old grandson, who is still being treated for brain cancer he developed at the age of 7.
The three were among a group of about two dozen people who came together last week in a small town in central Iowa to share their experiences of cancer. They are part of a new research project investigating potential environmental causes for what the American Cancer Society’s advocacy arm calls a cancer “crisis.”
For the last few years, Iowa has had the second-highest rate of cancer in the nation, and is only one of two US states where cancer is increasing.
“People in rural communities are getting sick. Cancer is just everywhere,” said Kerri Johannsen, senior director of policy at the Iowa Environmental Council, a non-profit focused on improving the environment that is helping to lead the project. “Every person I talk to knows somebody that has [recently] had a cancer diagnosis,” she said. “It’s just a constant drumbeat. It’s scary.”
Kentucky, the only state with a higher cancer incidence than Iowa, historically has also ranked first in adult smoking, which is considered to play a major role in the state’s high cancer rates.
In Iowa, the cause has been less clear. Last year, a state report cited alcohol consumption as a key factor. Higher-than-average levels of radon, a naturally occurring, colorless gas known to cause cancer, is also a concern.
But many residents blame the insecticides, herbicides and other pesticides widely used on farms as well as the state’s persistent problem with high levels of hazardous nitrates that wash off farm fields into the state’s water supply.
As a key US farm state, Iowa has long been known for the leafy green stalks of corn that stretch seemingly endlessly across the horizon. With nearly 87,000 farms, the state ranks first not only for corn production but also for pork and egg production, and is within the top five states for growing soybeans and raising cattle.
Of Iowa’s 35.7m acres of total land, roughly 31m is devoted to farming.
Many of the pesticides routinely used are linked to a range of diseases, including the popular herbicide glyphosate, which is classified as a probable human carcinogen by cancer experts at the World Health Organization. Nitrates are also tied to cancer, particularly when consumed in drinking water or other dietary sources.
Agricultural fertilizers and manure from large-scale livestock operations are key sources for nitrates, which are known to contaminate surface water and groundwater.
In addition to looking at pesticides and nitrates, the research will also look at cancer links to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs).
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warned of elevated cancer risks related to such farm fertilizer contaminated with PFAs.
The work will also include a deeper look at the state’s high levels of radon as a key cancer cause, said Elise Pohl, former community health consultant for the Iowa Department of Health who is the lead researcher for the project. Radon, a leading cause of lung cancer, is particularly high across Iowa, with approximately 50% of homes facing radon levels above federal regulatory action levels.
“We really want to find out why these cancers are increasing,” Pohl said. “We’re honing in on the agriculture side of things.”
The focus on agricultural practices as a potential cause for the high cancer rates is controversial, according to Adam Shriver, director of wellness and nutrition at the Harkin Institute who is helping lead the initiative.
Agriculture contributes an estimated $159.5 billion to the state’s economy – roughly one-third of Iowa’s total economic output, according to the Iowa Farm Bureau. And the industry influence is potent, according to Shriver.
“In most people’s minds, you escape to the country for healthy, clean living and yet … the elephant in the room is that we’ve been practicing industrial agriculture and we’ve had a government that has been subservient to big agriculture and they’ve been allowed to do whatever they want,” Shriver said.
Iowa Farmers Union policy director Tommy Hextel said many farmers are worried about the health impacts of their use of pesticides but are reluctant to be too vocal.
“We have a lot of folks who are conventional farmers who are concerned about this,” said Hextel. “They’re worried about cancer in their families. But they don’t want to be outspoken about an industry that supplies them essential tools.”
Several farm organizations were asked for their views on the new study and fears of ties between agriculture and cancer, but only one, the Iowa Corn Growers Association, responded.
“We’re interested in looking at all potential causes of cancer,” said Rodney Williamson, the association’s vice president of research and sustainability. He cited smoking, radon, obesity, tanning beds, and alcohol as additional potential causes to consider. “We should be looking at all of those.”
He said when it comes to pesticides, the association urges farmers to follow the recommendations of the EPA, which does “an extensive review” of pesticides for potential carcinogenicity, and to ensure that they apply pesticides appropriately.
Wondering and worrying
At last week’s listening session in Indianola, Chambers described how she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 50. She lives about 20 miles south of Indianola, where she and her husband farm roughly 1,000 acres. She said many others in her area have also suffered from cancers, and though she does not know what caused her illness, which is now at bay, she stays far from farm chemicals.
“Do I think it’s chemicals? Do I worry about the water?,” she asked rhetorically. “I do.”
Funded with donations from individuals and foundations, the research team plans to produce a report based on a broad review of years of published scientific studies as well as the anecdotal information gleaned in the listening sessions. The researchers hope to release some initial findings later this year.
Dr Richard Deming, a cancer doctor in Iowa for 36 years, said he donated personal funds to the project because he feels more independent research is needed to inform policies that can help cut the cancer rates.
“It’s not trying to throw any industry under the bus. But, lots of people now are scratching their heads,” he said.” “As a cancer doctor taking care of patients, I have the opportunity one patient at a time to try to help … But if you can prevent cancers you can actually make a bigger difference than treating each cancer that comes into your office.”
This story is co-published with the New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group
