‘Cancer is just everywhere’: could farming be behind Iowa’s unfolding health crisis?

‘As a key US farm state, Iowa has long been known for the leafy green stalks of corn that stretch seemingly endlessly across the horizon.’ Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

Six months ago, Alex Hammer was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 37. Dianne Chambers endured surgery, chemotherapy and dozens of rounds of radiation to fight aggressive breast cancer, and Janan Haugen spends most days helping care for her 16-year-old grandson, who is still being treated for brain cancer he developed at the age of seven.

The three were among a group of about two dozen people who came together last week in a small town in central Iowa to share their experiences of cancer. They are part of a new research project investigating potential environmental causes for what the American Cancer Society’s advocacy arm calls a cancer “crisis”.