The country's cancer death rate has seen a 33 percent decline in the last 30 years, according to the American Cancer Society. That means nearly four million deaths were averted. But UNMC is sounding the alarm for Nebraska farmers in a newly-released study that explores their cancer risks. The study, published in December, shows high instances of "cancer risk behaviors" and low screening numbers for certain cancers among Nebraska farmers. "It has been shown that they are at higher risk for certain cancers, for example, for skin cancer since they're outside working out in the sun. Also, they're exposed to some chemicals in agricultural production," said Evi Farazi, the principal investigator of the UNMC study. Researchers sent out a survey in 2019 to ranchers and farmers to look into whether certain behaviors among that population could lead to cancer diagnoses. About 1,700 surveys were mailed out, but less than half were fully or partially completed. "It's typical for surveys to have a 30 percent response rate, this was actually surprisingly pretty good response rate for a survey," Farazi said. "We also need to look further into some of these results and look into some of the details a little bit more."The results still showed a need for better diets and more exercise across the board. Four percent reported using tanning beds. Smoking and alcohol consumption is still lower than the national average, but doctors want to see even lower numbers. "Perhaps with farming becoming more motorized now and automated, there's not as much physical activity," Farazi said. "So we need to stress the importance of having a healthy diet and having the recommended physical activity.""I know someone all the time in our organization, in our leadership, in our membership, and it's usually two, three, four, five folks at a time, that are in some part of the cancer treatment process," said John Hansen, the president of the Nebraska Farmers Union. UNMC researchers also looked at early detection in the survey. While 80 percent-plus were current with their colon, prostate and breast cancer screenings, things like cervical and skin cancers need more tracking. "The skin cancer screening rate was pretty low, was under 50 percent. So that's something that needs to be looked at a little bit more," Farazi said. It is something Hansen hopes farmers and ranchers will not ignore. "Sometimes when you do it all the time, you also get a little lax and you get a little too familiar with that risk," Hansen said. UNMC researchers will now try and compare this data with the state's non-farming population and do some outreach to the rural community.For more information on the research, you can click here.