As long as there will be cancer in Louisiana, expect Relay for Life to be here.

For the last 12 years, Vermilion Parish had been putting on a 12-hour Relay For Life that generates money to help find a cure for cancer.

That event is held at the end of April and this year is no exception. On April 29 at Kaplan High School, Relay For Life will take place, beginning at 6 p.m.

That 12 hour night normally raises just over $100,000. This year’s goal is $119,000.

For the last five years, Vermilion Parish’s Relay For Life ranks in the top two (out of 11) in raising money. Lafayette’s Relay For Life raises around $120,000 per year for first.

Thus far, there are 24 teams that have signed up.

Tuesday morning in the Abbeville Council meeting room, a group of Relay for Life organizers, along with city officials to declare April as Relay for Life month by Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza and Kaplan Mayor Kirk Champage.

In the proclamation, the mayors urge all community members to support the fund-raising efforts of the local Relay For Life teams, to join cancer survivors in the celebration of life and dedicate themselves to fight against cancer by attending Relay for Life.

Cancer will touch one out of two men and one out of three women in their life time. This year alone, 565,650 Americans are expected to die of cancer, which is 1,500 people per day. More than 1.4 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year and an estimated 23,280 of those cases will be from Louisiana.

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.

The chairperson for this year’s Relay For Life is Lindsay Blanchard and Darlene Bares is in charge of publicity. Amanda Habetz is the parish spokesman for American Cancer Society.