If you’ve ever been touched by cancer, you know how important prevention, early detection and research of treatment options can be.

They’re all very nebulous things until you or a loved one has been diagnosed. That’s when they become part of your daily life.

That’s when you wish you had known, many years ago, that those cigarettes you were smoking, all that time you were spending in the sun, all that physical activity you weren’t getting and all that junk food you were eating were risk factors for the cancer you would get later.

That’s when you wish you hadn’t put off that screening test, unpleasant though it may be, until the cancer was too far advanced to do much about it.

That’s when you hope that the doctors who will be treating you have access to the most up-to-date research and good equipment.

That’s when you look to your community for resources that can help you with the fight.

That’s when you hope you have really, really, really good insurance.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life helps with all of those things — except for your insurance. The annual event is coming up next weekend, starting at 4 p.m. Saturday at Bennett’s Creek Park and lasting until 4 a.m. Sunday.

Using proceeds from the event, the society aims to educate folks on prevention, advocate regular screenings, support research on prevention and treatment and put together programs that help patients endure the difficult journey that is cancer treatment.

It’s not too late to make plans to attend, even if you haven’t been involved with any prior fundraisers. It’s a powerful event where the entire community comes together for one cause.

You can find more information at www.relayforlife.org/suffolkva.