Tracking Cancer in Vermont
Cancer is a group of more than 100 different diseases in which abnormal cells in the body grow out of control. Cancers are often named after the part of the body where the abnormal cell growth began—breast cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer, and thyroid cancer, for example.
Many cancers are common in Vermont. Each year more than 3,600 Vermonters are diagnosed with some form of cancer. Cancer occurs in people of all ages, but risk increases significantly with age. Nearly four out of 10 Vermonters will develop cancer in their lifetime. Cancer is the leading cause of death in Vermont. Each year, more than 1,300 Vermonters die from some form of cancer.
In the U.S., heart disease is the leading cause of death and cancer is the second. For several decades, heart disease was also the leading cause of death in Vermont, but in 2007 cancer became the leading cause.
