Study finds Cerro Gordo County has higher incidence rate of cancer than national average
MASON CITY, Iowa (KTTC) – Iowa is second only to Kentucky when it comes to states with the highest rates of new cancer cases. A report by the name of ‘Cancer in Iowa: 99 Counties Project’ found the disease is diagnosed at a higher rate in Cerro Gordo County than the national average.
Iowa Cancer Registry Director of Research, Analytics, and Dissemination Sarah Nash said 335 cancer cases were diagnosed in Cerro Gordo County—an average from 2017 to 2021. She said, “Your rate is higher than the U.S. average, so you ranked 21 out of the 99 counties in Iowa.”
According to the online presentation on Tuesday, there are an average of 102 cancer deaths in the county from the periods between 2018 to 2022. Of these cancer cases, Nash said female breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, skin melanoma, and colorectal cancer are the top five.
“Your most common cancer is female breast cancer,” she explained during the event. “Fortunately, most breast cancers, both in your county as well as statewide and the United States, are diagnosed at this early stage. In Cerro Gordo, only 28% of the cases are diagnosed at late stage.”
Along with the alarming statistics, what is also significant is the growing number of cancer survivors in the state. Iowa Cancer Registry wrote in its 2025 report on Cancer In Iowa an estimated 171,535 survivors currently live in the state.
“Each of these data points that we’re talking about is a community member, is a family member, is a friend, and they’re all Iowans that we know and love,” Nash added, explaining how the research means to promote education and community engagement.
To read the Iowa Cancer Registry’s work, visit its website.
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