Despite blistering cold winds more than 200 people stepped through the family life center of Midway Baptist Church Saturday, Feb. 16 in support of 25-year-old Jenna Phipps.

“She’s a strong girl and she’s going to fight it,” said her grandfather James Stott.

Phipps discovered she had cancer on her tongue in June  2012.

After surgery on her tongue and neck, Phipps believed the saga was over. Unfortunately in early January she found a knot on the right side of her neck and headed with her mother to Chapel Hill to see her surgeon the first round of cancer. After a second surgery, she was told she would need to continue treatment at MD Anderson in Texas.

Midway Baptist Church member Tammy Anderson helped to organize the Feb. 16 event, which brought out family, friends, church and community members in support of Phipps and her family.

“We knew that the family themselves would never be able to afford all of the expense to go out to MD Anderson. Our church has helped them and many people in the community have helped them, but we felt we needed to do something more,” Anderson said. “This was all so unexpected for them because she had already beaten it once.”

In order to receive treatment at MD Anderson, Phipps had to pack up her belongings two weeks after getting the new diagnosis and move to Texas. This meant leaving behind close friends, family and the new job she was looking to start.

With the lofty expenses of such a move in mind, the church hosted a spaghetti supper and benefit singing, which included singing by Greg Day and the gospel group “Broken.”

Anderson said the church raised more than $2,900 from almost 250 donors through Saturday’s spaghetti dinner and benefit singing.