Healthy Start also assisted Baltimore City in preventing instances of low-birth weight babies. Let's talk about mid-life . . . According to the American Cancer Society in 1997, over 1.3 million new cancer cases were diagnosed and more than 560,000 Americans died of cancer. One in every four deaths in the U.S. is from cancer. Since 1990, approximately 10 million new cancer cases have been diagnosed and approximately 4 million people have died from the disease.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease.
The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 7.4 million Americans alive today have a history of cancer. Some of these individuals can be considered cured, while others still have evidence of cancer. Over 25,000 new cancer cases were estimated in Maryland in 1997. Over 10,000 Maryland residents died from cancer in 1997. In Baltimore City there were 4,216 reportable cases of cancer diagnosed in 1995.