Rob Sand on Health Care

Lower cancer rated by testing for radon

Lahn: The high nitrate load in water is one of the top causes of colon cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer, thyroid cancer. We have the ability here to bring real solutions to stop these products from getting in our streams in the first place.

Sand: Iowa has the highest Radon levels in the country. It is the leading cause of lung cancer. Would you like us to do a $20 radon test? The vast majority say yep, better safe than sorry. That is good. If they find high rates when buying a home, they will say we're buying a home, it is a big purchase, if we can add a mitigation system, that is a good investment because it is cheaper than getting lung cancer later on. We also smoke at higher rates than usual. We drink at higher rates than usual. We exercise less. All three of those things impact our rates. We need to make sure people who have cancer in Iowa have access to treatments.

Invest in research to reduce rising cancer rates

Privatized Medicaid is less likely to treat Iowans