KDSN RADIO News
Experts meeting at Iowa Cancer Summit in Ankeny today
The Iowa Cancer Summit opens this morning in Ankeny. Kelly Sittig with the Iowa Cancer Consortium says it’s important, as the state has the second-highest age-adjusted cancer incidence rate in the country.
“Cancer is so incredibly complex, and there is not one single thing that is causing our high cancer rate here in the state, which means that we have to make sure that we’re addressing cancer from many different angles,” Sittig. She says the summit brings a wide variety of people together. “Health professionals, researchers, healthcare providers, policy makers, cancer survivors, advocates. A really wide range of people who have different interests in cancer control, but the one thing that they all share is that passion and commitment to working collaboratively to reduce the burden of cancer in our state,” she says.
Sittig says the event can be informative and inspirational. “Hearing what’s working, what isn’t, places we can make changes, and then of course, making sure that folks can connect with each other to continue collaborative work into the future,” Sittig says.
The keynote speaker is Brian King, Executive Vice President of the U.S. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “We know that lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths here in the state, and by addressing cancer or lung cancer, we know that we could really affect our overall cancer rate here in the state. So we’re thrilled to have his national expertise here,” she says.
The Iowa Cancer Summit runs from 8:45 a.m. through 4 p.m. today at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny.
