NATCHEZ — Contracting breast cancer was not something on Francis Stampley’s inner radar.

“I never thought I would get cancer,” she said.

So, when Stampley was diagnosed in March, she was shocked.

“I had this itch in my breast since January that wouldn’t go away,” she said. “I hadn’t had a mammogram in so long.”

Stampley went to the doctor and after several tests she was told cancerous growths existed in both of her breasts.

“I was so scared,” she said. “I felt like I was the only person going through this.”

Stampley soon discovered she was not alone in her fight against cancer. On Sunday, at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Natchez, she and others saw tangible evidence of the community fighting with them through a sign in the sky.

Zion Hill had a balloon release Sunday, the mantra for which was printed on the back of their pink T-shirts: “standing with the fighters, supporting the survivors, remembering the taken, and always praying, never giving up hope.”

Hope was written in all capital letters.

“We want the community to know that we care about them and are there for them,” said Joe Pickett, the pastor at Zion Hill, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor.

Luckily, Stampley’s cancer was spotted when it was just in what’s called stage one.

She had a double mastectomy in April, which cleared her of all cancer. Now in remission, Stampley realizes how lucky she was.

“It could have been so much worse,” she said. “I thank God that my body told me there was something wrong, and I got it looked at.”

Stories such as Stampley’s were a wakeup call for Veronica Barfield McClain, who organized the event at Zion Hill.

“I got my first mammogram when I turned 40,” she said. “Even though mine was negative, it made me realize how many women are going through this.”

“That’s why I put this together.”

Now a survivor herself, Stampley stands behind events such as the balloon release as helpful to survivors and fighters of breast cancer.

“At first I felt lonely because not many people here have gone through what I have,” she said.

“But then I listen to the word of God, and I see how many people are here for me and the others and it makes me feel good.”