Thousands of Romanians fall victims to cancer every year because of pollution, unhealthy nutrition, smoking and precarious hospitals. The present figures are something serious to worry about and an even larger number of cancer patients is estimated for the future, since 55,000 new cases are detected yearly. Cancer is the second main reason that causes children aged between 4 and 14 to die. According to the latest statistics from the Romanian Ministry of Health, 355, 000 Romanians suffer from cancer at present and 4, 400 of them are children. 160 children are diagnosed with cancer every year, with cerebral cancer ad leukemia most frequent. Gastric cancer together with rectal cancer and uterine cancer are more present with the grown-ups. Experts say the number of victims will increase with 2, 000 every year. Most cases come from improper nutrition as well. Smoking and exposure to radiation in the big cities consolidate the risk to get cancer. Things are all the more dramatic because in Romania there are only 250 oncologists who can't manage to see to such a great number of patients. The unrelenting disease can be prevented if one leads a balanced life and goes to the doctor regularly. Many types of cancer are curable, especially if the treatments starts in an early stage. (G.M.)