John Coffelt, Editor

 When Manchester storeowner Amy Grisham found a concerning lump in her breast, she had just made the headfirst leap and opened Ivy’s Tiny Dance Store in July of 2024.

“I had an itch, and I went to scratch it and that’s when I felt it,” Grisham said. “So, I immediately scheduled a mammogram.”

Grisham said when she told the scheduling nurse that she had a lump, things began moving quickly.

“Oh,” the nurse said. “You need a diagnostic; let’s get you in with your GP to order that.”

Grisham said after the mammogram, she was sent for an ultrasound. The technician whispered the bad news to her.

The official diagnosis, breast cancer, came September 18.

“It’s pretty scary. Honestly, I immediately went into ‘what do I have to do to fix this.’  In the beginning the fear wasn’t as big. It was shock and being in denial. I jumped right into survival mode,” Grisham said.

One of the big things on her mind was how to tell her kids.

Ivy, the shop’s namesake, at 16 is the baby of the family. Grisham’s other four children are grown, ages 27, 29, 34 and 37.

“Each one was a little different, but I made sure that none were told over the phone. I started off the conversation with ‘I’m going to be okay, but I have breast cancer. I caught it early—I’m going to be okay.’”

Early on, the doctors told Grisham that it was a small tumor, 1.5 cm, non-aggressive and had not spread to the lymph nodes.

Treatment was to be chemo and a lumpectomy. Then the surgeons found the cancer had spread to Grisham’s lymph nodes and the chemo didn’t catch all the diseased tissue.

Grisham had a double mastectomy in April followed by 25 rounds of radiation. She will be on hormone blockers for 10 years and a new cancer drug, Kisqali, that she will take for three.

The Kisqali, similar to the chemo, causes fatigue, hair loss and can lower white blood cell count and has the potential to damage her heart.

All this time, Grisham has been a small business owner.      

“It’s hard,” she said. “The community has been very understanding.”

Unexpected doctors’ appointments and constant trips to Murfreesboro make keeping regular store hours difficult. But she worked through it, sometimes sending Ivy to the store to meet customers for urgent orders.

Some days are a struggle when the fatigue hits and when the store’s not doing well. But the store has helped give her purpose. And while it’s hard to compete with Amazon, meeting people and getting their tiny dancers (of all ages) in the right attire is some days a reason to get out of bed. 

Attitude has helped greatly through all of this.

“Focus on getting through the process. I know it’s hard. Somedays you just can’t have a good attitude when this is happening to you.”

Grisham said she makes it a point every morning to sit outside and be grateful.

“Don’t put things off,” Grisham said.   

Grisham advises women to be diligent with their health.

“Check yourself and know your body. Advocate for yourself. If you think something is off, make sure you get tested even if the doctor says, ‘Oh, you’re young you’re okay. Get tested.’”

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.