Under a Carolina blue sky in Chapel Hill, a glittering group of state officials and dignitaries participated in the dedication of UNC Hospital's $207 million N.C. Cancer Hospital on Tuesday.

But whenever the subject is cancer, the absence of those who are not there weighs heavily.

Gov. Beverly Perdue, for example, wore red in memory of N.C. State's beloved basketball coach, Kay Yow, who died of cancer in January. Many also remembered Durham State Senator Jeanne Lucas, who attended the groundbreaking for the cancer hospital in 2005, but who died of the disease in 2007.

It was hard not to think about how much they would have loved to have seen the completed building, a beautiful, 315,000-square-foot facility full of natural light, lovely artworks and state-of-the-art technology.

And as Speaker of the House Joe Hackney, D- Orange, said, everyone who attended probably thought of someone they knew who was a victim of cancer. The disease has touched nearly every family in some way.

But there are also reasons for celebration, and many of them -- cancer survivors -- attended the event. The good news is that more people are surviving cancer than ever before. For many types of cancer, great progress has been made in beating cancer and saving lives.

In 2008, for the first time, an annual report on cancer showed both the incidence and the death rate for all cancers combined decreasing.

"The continuing drop in mortality is evidence once again of real progress made against cancer, reflecting real gains in prevention, early detection and treatment," said Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.

Taking the fight against cancer to the next level is the purpose of the new N.C. Cancer Hospital and of a new cancer center expansion at Duke Medical Center on which construction got underway this summer.

It's a matter of pride that, with these two new hospitals nearby, our region will remain on the forefront of fighting cancer through research and improvements in patient care.

And as Hackney said, while the facility is located in Chapel Hill, it really belongs to everyone in North Carolina.