From all accounts, Troy Stokes was a good man. He was a lawman, and his colleagues respected him. He was a family man, adored by his wife and children.

On Thursday morning, Troy Stokes, 53, died of esophageal cancer. Fifty-three years old — young enough to enjoy playing with his children in the back yard; young enough to still have much of a career left before him and young enough to eventually enjoy grandchildren and time with a devoted spouse.

It is these stories of too many people dying too young that prompt hard science research into the causes (and thus the cures) for cancer.

We have learned so much about the disease already from those days not too many decades ago when a physician would shake his or her head and say, “That person was eaten up; I just had to sew them back up.”

Now there are survivors. There are drugs that contain the disease and place it into remission.

But more research is needed. And research costs dollars.

That’s one of the reasons events, such as Relay for Life and other fundraisers are so important. Every time we can contribute something to help remember someone cancer has claimed or someone who has beaten the disease, we should.

Every time we can give something to help further the research and help the scientists work on cures or methods of early detection, we should. As long as there is a Troy Stokes out there, there is a need for another weapon in the arsenal against cancer.