Natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and tornados can quickly bring out the best in our community.

We’ve often said that when the going gets tough, the Miss-Lou bonds like no other community.

But it’s not just catastrophic natural disasters that can tie our community together. Personal, but equally catastrophic, battles with illness can do the same thing.

Each year, we’re amazed at how much a single disease affects our community.

Looking at the crowd on hand at Friday night’s annual Miss-Lou Relay for Life fundraising event, it’s clear that cancer cuts through all age and class distinctions. Cancer doesn’t see race or sex or ethnicity.

Once upon a time hearing your physician say the “c word” was effectively a life sentence.

Fortunately, in the last 20 years, vast improvements have been made in the fight against cancer.

Seeing the faces — young and old, black and white, rich and poor — as the cancer survivors headed around the Relay track during the survivor’s lap, is evidence of just how pervasive cancer is in our community.

That sea of diverse faces is also evidence that cancer is no longer a definite life sentence. And those faces and all of the people who came to the Relay or contributed money or time to this year’s event show just how committed the Miss-Lou is to battling cancer.

Our thanks to all of the many volunteers who made the event such a success and who help bring our community together to fight a common foe — cancer.