Iowa Ranks No. 2 in U.S. for Cancer Cases Among Adults Ages 20 to 39
Iowa ranks second in the US for cancer among adults aged 20 to 39, according to this year's Cancer in Iowa report. The state's rates kept climbing after 2007 while the national trend fell, and a 32-year-old advocate is urging young Iowans to take symptoms seriously.
Iowa ranks No. 2 in the United States for cancer cases among adults aged 20 to 39, according to this year's Cancer in Iowa report. The state's incidence rate for young adults sits above the national average.
The finding matches Iowa's position for cancer overall. "Just like we rank No. 2 for overall cancers, we also rank unfortunately No. 2 for young adults with cancer," said Mary Charlton, director of the Iowa Cancer Registry, which tracks all new cases of the disease in the state.
A trend that split from the nation
In 2007, Iowa still followed the rest of the country on cancer cases among young adults. Then the paths diverged. Rates elsewhere in the country decreased.
"Ours continued to rise at a pretty steady rate," Charlton said. She added that rates are going up for everyone in the young adult group.
Lung cancer is among the most common types in Iowa, but not for this age group. Melanoma, breast, thyroid and testicular cancers affect young adults more.
Fewer young Iowans die from the disease. About 60 percent of young adults diagnosed are in early stages, Charlton said. Even so, she noted the long-term strain: "That's a long time for a cancer to come back."
One patient's story
Clara Cirks grew up in Dallas Center and attended Iowa State University. In early 2025 she was living in Colorado and working in marketing when her back started to hurt.
She assumed a running injury was to blame. "I assumed that all the back pain and hip pain I was experiencing was just from the herniated disc," she said.
She was far sicker. The disease had reached her pelvis, bones, breasts, brain and lungs. "I was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer," she said.
Cirks moved back to Iowa, where family became her caregivers. Over the following year she went from using a walker to running a 5K in recent months.
She also built a following of tens of thousands on social media. Her near-daily feature, "Cancer Questions with Clara," made her an advocate for young patients. She turned 32 last month and posted a video about seeing the ocean again.
Her message to Iowans in their 20s and 30s is blunt. "You're not invincible, and that it can happen to anybody," she said.
