Toni Black, the woman whose battle with cancer inspired a tremendous outpouring of love and compassion last week, died Monday at the age of 23, according to Schneider-Griffin Funeral Home.

The Chesapeake, Ohio, woman returned home last Tuesday, April 3, from North Carolina, just a little more than a week after her doctors decided to stop treatment.
Black had been battling lung and brain cancer since being diagnosed in March 2011. Her fight included several months of radiation, chemotherapy and experimental drug treatments at University of North Carolina and Duke University. Those efforts stopped in late March. Her family then spent a few days at a Carolina beach and returned home last week to an outpouring of love and support from thousands.

It is estimated at least 12,000 people turned out April 3 as they lined the West Virginia Turnpike and Interstate 64 with balloons, signs and well wishes. The love stretched from Beckley, W.Va., to Black?s hometown.

Black arrived in Chesapeake about 8:15 p.m., April 3, in a stretch, sport-utility vehicle. It was accompanied by a police escort and welcomed home with fire trucks, which sprayed pink water and held a giant, American flag overhead.

The welcome home celebration was organized by Black's former cheerleading coach, Jill Stapleton Greenhill, who also owns Jill's Tumble World in Cheseapeake. The effort, which she dubbed as Team Toni, started as something for the cheerleading community and grew from there.

Black had received countless well-wishes and several visitors since returning home. Each of those encouraged her in the final days.