(Radio Iowa) – Health officials in central Iowa are creating a cancer plan to reduce the effects of the disease in the area. The Polk County Cancer Coalition is made up of community members and healthcare professionals who will look at ways to increase access to prevention, early detection and after-cancer care. Juliann Van Liew, director of the Polk County Health Department, says they’re using the Iowa Cancer Consortium’s statewide plan as a starting point.
“Our job as a local coalition is to take that state plan and look at our local Polk County data, and resources and gaps,” Van Liew says, “and figure out which strategies from that state plan really make sense to focus on here in Polk County as a group.” Van Liew says they’re looking at how to reduce risks from tobacco use and environmental exposure. She says they’re also looking at how to improve access to care systems and support. She says they’re looking at existing solutions, like radon testing in homes.
“The answers are there for a lot of these areas,” Van Liew says. “It’s just figuring out, what are we going to prioritize, and what are we going to kind of rally around and try to give resources to as a focus for us in Polk County?”
Next month, the coalition will break off into focus groups that will work on various efforts. Van Liew says they hope to have a finalized cancer plan in January that will help them improve access to resources.
