Amanda Finch was driving to her daughter's house in Hixson one day three years ago when her doctor's phone number popped up on her mobile phone.
Sensing she might get some troubling news, Finch pulled over to brace herself.
Days earlier, she had discovered a lump in one of her breasts during a routine self-examination. A subsequent biopsy would reveal Stage 3 breast cancer.
"Your mind goes from zero to 1,000 quickly," she recalled. "I remember thinking my time was up. 'What's going to happen to my children and grandchildren?' I thought."
Finch, a 45-year-old Mary Kay representative, remembers the feeling of dread and despair that swept over her in 2015. She recalled immediately beginning to plan her funeral. She later learned the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
On her darkest days, she would envision herself running in the grass with her grandchildren, their hair blowing in the wind.
As events unfolded, she was told by her doctors they could help. She started chemotherapy and radiation treatments and was offered a lumpectomy surgery, which she ultimately received.
Over time, her treatments were successful and she became "cancer free," but the battle was a life-changing experience. She gained about 35 pounds during her treatments and became determined to lose that added weight and more. She began reading, often spending three or more hours a day consuming books and articles about healthy living. Her goal, she says, was to "rewrite" her story, to lose weight, live a healthier lifestyle and ultimately remain cancer free.
Mark KennedyShe began looking through her cupboard at home and eliminating foods, such as artificial sweeteners and additives. She believes the human immune system is well equipped to ward off disease if the body is properly fed and cared for.
"I did a pantry makeover," she recalled, which she said included eliminating processed sugar and salt.
After her cancer treatments ended, Finch started to drop weight. At one point, she lost eight pounds in a week. It alarmed her enough that she consulted her doctor, but it turned out the rapid weight loss was just the result of her strict diet.
Before long, news of her healing spread to friends and family and Finch began to host "clean eating classes" in her home for people who wanted to learn her diet secrets. She also began to venture out to talk to groups of cancer survivors about the body-cleansing results of her new diet regimen. She shared her view that eating healthy foods and sleeping 10 hours a day could help them heal.
"If you eat the right stuff, you don't even have to worry about counting calories," she said.
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Soon, Finch began studying to become certified as a holistic health coach by taking online courses from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Meanwhile, sharing her learning has paid dividends for her family. Finch says her husband Larry, an engineering manager, has lost 70 pounds and her daughter's seizures have stopped.
In coming days, her website - finchholistics.com - will become operational. "My plan is to become the person I needed when I got my [cancer] diagnosis," she said.
On June 18, the third anniversary of her cancer diagnosis, she opened her new holistic health business.
Instead of a ribbon cutting, she had a broccoli-breaking ceremony to mark the occasion.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com 0r 423-757-6645.