Originally from Thunder Bay, Forbes came to Hamilton to attend McMaster’s medical school then decided to stick around. He has no shortage of work here, that’s for sure. Between 2000 and 2009, about 3,250 people in Hamilton were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and more than 1,400 people died of the disease. The Spectator’s landmark cancer analysis shows there’s a notable income gradient in colorectal cancer mortality rates across Hamilton. The death rate from colorectal cancer in Hamilton’s east end between Parkdale Avenue and the Stoney Creek border was about 80 per cent higher than the colorectal death rate in Flamborough. The numbers are sobering, Forbes said.