If I ever needed a reminder of just how much cancer affects us all, I received it within the last week.

It began with an interview of Sandra Smith, a survivor that beat breast cancer seven years ago. During that conversation, she recited a good analogy of how cancer is something that everyone knows.

“Cancer is the perfect villian,” she said.

The reason for that is because cancer can strike anyone at anytime. It strikes without warning, inflicting pain and even death.

However, that’s not the end of the story.

“And those who battle it are the perfect heroes,” she added.

Thus, it makes it the ultimate good vs. evil battle in our lives. We may not can see a villain like the Joker or Darth Vader in real life. (And I’m not talking about people dressed as those characters that you might see at a Comic-Con event.)

We very rarely ever come across a disease that has such a wide reach as cancer. Granted, there are numerous types of cancer, and it seems like there are more forms of cancer being detected every year.

But that is the reason why the American Cancer Society exists. Everyone has been touched by it, whether you are currently fighting it, know someone who is a survivor or lost a friend or family member to cancer.

In fact, as I’m writing this, I have just recently learned of another person I know who passed away due to cancer-related illnesses. He was a mayor I used to work with at another newspaper and he was just 44 years old.

Another friend of my family learned she had cancer while she was pregnant. They had to hold off treatment until her baby was born and she is now going through her cancer treatments.

With Relay for Life kicking off this month, I think it’s an important time to think about trying to help the cause to fight cancer. Maybe you’re not being affected by it right now, but most likely, you will.

Let’s see if we can help find a cure.

Brent Maze is the managing editor of the Hartselle Enquirer.