ATHENS, Ala. (WHNT) — Our communities are impacted daily when families, friends and neighbors are diagnosed with cancer.

This Friday, you have an opportunity to show up and show support for them at Limestone County’s Relay for Life Night.

Every year, Athens and Limestone County designate a week of Relay’s local celebration as ‘Relay for Life Paint the Town Purple Week.’

Relay for Life Night will be held on May 12th with a Survivor Dinner starting at 5 p.m. Opening ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. , and the luminaria begins at 9 p.m. All of this will take place on Marion Street in Athens. 

The names of those impacted by cancer in the community will be on luminaries displayed on that side of the courthouse.

Athens resident Jennifer White beat cancer not once… not twice…but three times. She fought breast cancer twice, and then skin cancer.

“My mother had breast cancer. She made it through that, but she did with uterine cancer. Her mother had breast cancer. I had a brother who was diagnosed with leukemia, and he died last September,” said White. “I am a proponent of getting involved. Get you a team with Relay for Life or come out and support the other teams.”

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be almost 2,000,000 new cancer cases and over 600,000 cancer deaths in the United States this year.

White tells News 19 everyone should get screened sooner rather than later.  

“Both of those times, I could not find it on a regular, monthly self-exam. They were found on regular mammograms. Everybody needs to get their mammograms,” White said.

She is also encouraging everyone in the community to come out and support the cause at this event.

“If you’ve had family that had cancer, you know what people will be going through and what they went through. I think they need to come out and support the research, anybody out there walking (calling attention to cancer and the concerns/problems), support survivors, and support all these teams raising money locally,” added White. 

For more information on the Relay for Life of Limestone County event or how you can get involved, you can visit the event website here.