COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Iowans have the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the nation and Governor Kim Reynolds is launching a new project to discover the reasons.
- In early January U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recommended that cancer warning labels be placed on alcohol packaging.
- Reynolds noted in her speech that Iowa has high rates of binge drinking.
- CHI Health Oncologist Inaganti Shah says he's seeing younger and younger patients diagnosed with illnesses like breast cancer and that may be due to binge drinking habits in younger people.
- Psychiatrist Dr. Harmit Singh said that alcohol misuse often indicates an underlying mental health problem and what we used to think of as normal drinking may not be.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Cancer diagnoses in Iowa are higher than average and some of those cases may be the result of excessive drinking.
I'm Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel at CHI Mercy in Council Bluffs. I'm here to find out why and what can be done.
In her Condition of the State address on Tuesday evening, Governor Kim Reynolds announced a partnership between Iowa HHS and the University of Iowa. The task? Find out why Iowans have the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the nation.
"Iowans don't need more speculation. They need answers," Gov. Reynolds said.
This comes after Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recommended that alcoholic drinks come with cancer warning labels. New research indicates heavy drinking is a significant risk factor when it comes to cancer.
"But now we're seeing more younger and younger patients being diagnosed with breast cancer and so forth," said CHI Health Oncologist Inaganti Shah.
According to Shah, it's now believed alcohol contributes to diseases such as breast cancer, along with throat and liver cancers, because alcohol can trigger hormonal changes
"When we're talking about increased risk of breast cancer, now we're talking about huge numbers ... in that sense, this can basically affect anybody," he said.
CHI Health Psychiatrist Harmit Singh says cultural norms on drinking are now outdated.
"But with the new information we're getting that even two drinks a day, which is about 14 drinks (per week), increases your risk of cancer pretty dramatically."
The new cancer research, he says, is a way for people to make an informed decision about their alcohol consumption.
"You might take wine at night but that wine can turn into a half a bottle at night," Singh said.
Dr. Shah told me binge drinking habits might be contributing to the growing number of patients he sees under the age of 50.
