For women, those rates rose from nine to 14 over the same period. The increases are only partly due to better diagnosis techniques, Lynch said. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is now the fifth most common cancer in the state, with 600 new cases expected this year. Dr. Mark Westberg sees those numbers translated into patients at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. He said the disease is clearly seen more often in this part of the country.
Nobody really knows why that is.
Westberg, an oncologist at the John Stoddard Cancer Center, shares concerns about chemical use. He said people should be careful but shouldn't panic. In my mind, nothing has been proven. A farm-chemical industry spokeswoman cautioned against reading too much into the new report. It takes a lot of time to wade through these analyses.