It’s almost impossible to find a family that hasn’t been impacted by cancer in some way. It’s a cruel disease that can strike at any age.

For that reason, it’s not surprising that the community comes together to support an event like the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life every year. Each April, teams across the county raise $100,000 to help cancer patients and research a cure.

In 2016, an estimated 1.6 million new causes of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 595,000 people will die from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Here are some additional stats about cancer:

The most common cancers in 2016 are projected to be breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma of the skin, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid cancer, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, leukemia, endometrial cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Cancer mortality is higher among men than women (207.9 per 100,000 men and 145.4 per 100,000 women). It is highest in African American men (261.5 per 100,000) and lowest in Asian/Pacific Islander women (91.2 per 100,000).

Approximately 39.6 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes (based on 2010-2012 data).

National expenditures for cancer care in the United States totaled nearly $125 billion in 2010 and could reach $156 billion in 2020.

Hopefully, there will be a cure someday and events like Relay for Life won’t be needed or will be a celebration of a fight won. However, until that day, it’s great to see our community support a worthwhile cause.