AUGUSTA (AP) — A Maine panel that’s been studying the causes for Maine’s high incidence of cancer is finishing its work.

The Cancer Task Force meets Friday to finalize its recommendations and report to the Legislature, which returns next month.

The group’s been examining how the state can establish education and prevention programs to lower the incidence of cancer in Maine.

Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services said more than 8,000 Maine residents are diagnosed with invasive cancer each year and more than 3,100 die from cancer every year.

Democratic Rep. Paul McGowan, the committee’s chairman from York, said his personal experiences prompted him to urge the state to fight cancer. He says his wife and several friends have died from cancer.