THE GROUP OF DISEASES known as can-

cer has a fearsome reputation in

our society. One public opinion poll

confirmed that 90 percent of people dread

cancer above all other threats to life, nu-

clear war included. Yet it is circulatory

disease - the cause of heart attacks and

strokes - that heads the list of common

causes of death in developed countries.

Cancer inspires fear because many people

assume that death

is the inevitable

outcome once can-

cer has been

diagnosed. The

facts are less terri-

fying and give a

firm basis for hope.

True, cancer is now

responsible for 20

percent of deaths in

the US and about 1

million Americans

are diagnosed as

having cancer each

year.