Addressing a growing need

Iowa ranks first among all 50 states for rates of new cases of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer, and is in the top five for leukemia and melanoma.

The cancer mortality has decreased over time, likely due to decreased smoking, available screenings and advances in treatment.

Survival rates in Iowa have also improved since the 1970s, with more than 164,000 cancer survivors currently living in Iowa.

The Iowa Cancer Registry estimates that there will be 20,800 new cases of cancer diagnosed in 2023. A more local focus tells us that it estimates that a little more than 5,000 people in Polk County and the contiguous counties will be told they have cancer in 2023. That is two times a capacity crowd at the Civic Center or a near-capacity crowd at Drake’s Knapp Center! The brighter side of the cancer conversation is that the Iowa Cancer Registry estimates that there are 164,000 cancer survivors in our state, and more than 37,000 in Polk County and the contiguous counties. The best news here is that this number keeps growing, and many of these people are long-standing survivors who have not had any evidence of cancer for more than 10 years. What should cause us to curb our enthusiasm a bit is that this number includes a growing number of people who have incurable cancer and are thus living with cancer for the rest of their lives, much like people do with MS, or diabetes.  

These facts and estimates illustrate a real challenge for the state of Iowa and specifically for Above + Beyond Cancer. Our staff of four and board of 23 members are driven to serve a rapidly growing population of cancer survivors and their caregivers as we deliver on our mission of elevating the lives of those touched by cancer, to create a healthier world.

Above + Beyond Cancer may be best known for our annual Transformational Journeys, where we take survivors and caregivers to amazing places where they experience life-changing challenges, such as climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro as a team of 31 survivors and caregivers did back in June. But our most widely impactful programs are our weekly and regular programs where survivors and caregivers become educated, get stronger and begin to thrive in one or more of our 16 regular “Mind | Body | Spirit” classes that are held at locations across the metro area, such as local YMCA locations, MercyOne Health & Fitness, Water Works Park, Greenwood Park and local trails.

To specifically help those survivors who are just finishing with their treatment, or those caregivers who have let their own good health deteriorate as they spent their days caring for their loved one who was on their cancer journey, we now offer Recovery + Beyond, which is done in a pool to help buoy the participants to make exercise a bit easier. Our Urban Pole Walking classes have grown dramatically in the last two years as participants discover that using these poles for walking helps them gain back significant strength.

To further address the increased number of newly diagnosed and long-term survivors, Above + Beyond Cancer has evolved our offerings to better meet people where they are. For example, our weekly Cancer Education Series is hosted by Dr. Richard Deming, our founder and the medical director of the MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center. We started the program decades ago as in-person at the MercyOne Health & Fitness in Clive. Now we still offer it live, but we also livestream the hour-long educational program, and make it into both an audio and video podcast that can be viewed by people far and wide. This new delivery system has become very popular. For example, during a recent show, there were 12 people in attendance live, more than twice that many streaming the program, and 300-plus who watched or listened to the podcast in just one week!

As the incidence rate of cancer continues to move upward and the number of cancer survivors in our state continues to grow, all charities connected to cancer, specifically Above + Beyond Cancer, have worked to successfully address how to increase programming for survivors and caregivers to continue to elevate the lives of those touched by cancer.

How do you see philanthropy efforts changing in the next five years?

The world of philanthropy will become more crowded and thus more difficult to support. The number of charities has grown in recent years and that trend is continuing. The good news is that people with needs are being served. The bad news is that causes will struggle to retain the funding they need. The way to solve this issue is to get involved with the fundraising effort at your favorite charity. People are much more likely to give to the charity that is important to one of their friends than to a fundraising professional, no matter how good we are!