Archive of ‘Inspiring Stories’ category

How Jennifer Smith lost weight by focusing on food first

By Chanda Temple

When Jennifer Smith’s best friend asked her to be in her 2001 wedding, Jennifer accepted.

But deep down, what Jennifer couldn’t accept was anyone knowing her true size: 18/20. Since the other women in the wedding were under a size 6, Jennifer ordered a size 12. She figured her dress order wasn’t a “lie” because she had five months to become that size 12.

She didn’t make it.

At one point in Jennifer Smith's life, she weighed nearly 280 pounds. She never thought it was a problem until she couldn't fit into a dress for her best friend's wedding. (Photo provided by Jennifer Smith.)
At one point in Jennifer Smith’s life, she weighed nearly 280 pounds. She never thought it was a problem until she couldn’t fit into a dress for her best friend’s wedding. (Photo provided by Jennifer Smith.)

The week of the wedding, a seamstress had to add an extra panel to the back to make it fit. And even though the alterations worked, the experience forced a then 24-year-old Jennifer to get serious about her weight, which had fluctuated since she was a child.

“More than anything, I was embarrassed,” Jennifer said. “And I just got tired of being sick and tired.”

First, she started walking in her neighborhood. Then, she tried fad diet after fad diet. The weight went up and down until she finally reached a size 22/24.

Today at age 48, Jennifer Smith weighs 160 pounds, a weight she achieved by remaining consistent with exercise and her diet. (Photo provided by Jennifer Smith)
Today at age 48, Jennifer Smith weighs 160 pounds, a weight she achieved by remaining consistent with exercise and her diet. She’s a certified trainer now doing public speaking engagements about her weight loss.(Photo provided by Jennifer Smith)

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Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn owner opens up about a hard season

By Chanda Temple

For almost three months, Tanesha Sims-Summers debated whether she would get real on social media about a big issue facing her company.

In late fall 2025, her Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn Co. food truck, stopped running. At first, she thought it would be an easy fix because she and her husband, Clem Summers, have faced truck challenges in the past. But this issue was different.

The mechanic told them that the part and labor to fix the truck, which is known as Ms. Poppy, would be $6,500. (The rear differential, which distributes engine power to the rear axel, was not working.) And to make matters worse, they would have to pay up front to order the part.

They didn’t have the money for such a repair, and Tanesha thought long and hard about what to do: Should she start a Go Fund Me?

The Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn food truck is a 2004 model that Clem Summers and Tanesha Sims-Summers bought in 2019. They outfitted ready for it to roll in 2020, not anticipating how the pandemic would impact the business. They pivoted with online sales until the world opened back up again. (Photo from company's Facebook page.)
The Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn food truck is a 2004 model that Clem Summers and Tanesha Sims-Summers bought in 2019 for $50,000 from Golden Flake. They outfitted it and had planned to put it in operation in 2020, not anticipating how the pandemic would impact the business. They pivoted with online sales until the world opened back up again. Today, the truck, which is paid off, has experienced vandalism twice and even a fire through the years. Still, the owners managed to get it rolling every time. Now, they are hosting a Go Fund Me to pay for a major repair. (Photo from company’s Facebook page.)

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Javacia Harris Bowser’s breast cancer journey was full of breaking, building and becoming

By Chanda Temple

When Javacia Harris Bowser walked into her doctor’s office and saw a big box of tissues in January 2020, she knew what words would come next.

She had breast cancer.

The doctor was expecting Javacia to cry. She did not. In fact, it would be some time before Javacia shed a tear over the news of being diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Instead, Javacia, a Type A person with an award-winning writing background, pulled out a notepad and said, “Ok, what do we need to do?”

Javacia Harris Bowser
Breast cancer survivor Javacia Harris has advice for those wanting to help loved ones fighting breast cancer. “Don’t ghost them,” she said. “When we don’t know exactly what to say or do, we just decide not to show up at all. Don’t do that. We would ratchet you say the wrong thing than not say anything because at least you are trying. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.” (Photo by Melissa Newton)

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Those wings from Piggly Wiggly? They are more than a meal for Kimberly Callines

By Chanda Temple

Five wings and sweet potato casserole.

That’s all Kimberly Callines wanted from Piggly Wiggly following her ob/gyn appointment at a Birmingham hospital in February 2022 . In fact, she wanted the meal so badly that she had made up her mind she was going to skip her scheduled mammogram right after her gynecologist visit and head down the street to pick up the Southern delicacy.

But as she stood at the elevator, ready to push the button to the floor that would take her to her car, she changed her mind when she heard God say, “Go get the mammogram.”

She followed orders and had the mammogram. The technician looked at Kimberly’s images and said, “Un-uhh. They may call you back for another mammogram.”

That call back set things in motion that forever changed Kimberly’s life. Additional testing showed that she had Stage 1 breast cancer.

Kimberly Callines (Photo provided by Kimberly Callines)
Kimberly Callines (Photo provided by Kimberly Callines)

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Hope looks like Tomeka Clemons after a year tested everything

By Chanda Temple

Tomeka Clemons’ breast cancer journey started in November 2023 when she went in for a routine mammogram. She went home, thinking things were OK. Then, a letter arrived in the mail, telling her the mammogram looked suspicious. A second letter soon arrived, asking her to return for a second mammogram of her left breast.

She returned for another mammogram. The radiologist looked at it and told her she was good. She could return in a year for another mammogram. But God saw different, telling Tomeka to seek a second opinion.

Tomeka has what’s known as “lumpy breasts,” and she could feel a small lump in her breast that just wouldn’t let her rest. “Maybe the mammogram missed it,” she thought. She had her mom feel the lump and her husband feel it. And then, she had her gynecologist, who was a breast cancer survivor, feel it.

They all agreed with Tomeka, there was a lump.

Tomeka Clemons (Photo provided by Tomeka Clemons)
Tomeka Clemons (Photo provided by Tomeka Clemons)

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Faith, family and a new perspective guided Marcella Roberts through breast cancer

By Chanda Temple

“How in the world do I have breast cancer?”

That’s what Marcella Roberts wanted to know after a routine mammogram and later a biopsy showed she had Stage 2, triple negative breast cancer, which is a cancer that is common in women of color and experts have more difficulty pinpointing what fuels it.

Marcella had no symptoms, no signs and no one in her family had had breast cancer. And even though breast cancer can show up without symptoms or a family history, Marcella still wondered, “So, how did this happen?”

But pretty soon, she had to put down that question and pick up the fight for her life.

Marcella Roberts (Photo provided by Marcella Roberts)
Marcella Roberts (Photo provided by Marcella Roberts)

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Steele Standing: How Ebony Arrington Steele fought breast cancer while living her dream

By Chanda Temple

Six weeks.

That’s all it took for Ebony Arrington Steele’s life to change.

Six weeks after being selected as a co-host for a nationally-syndicated radio show in Dallas, Ebony found herself in the doctor’s office to investigate what felt like a hard marble in her right breast.

She was 35, living her dream but now facing her biggest test: cancer.

Ebony Arrington Steele (Photo provided by Ebony Arrington Steele)
Ebony Arrington Steele (Photo provided by Ebony Arrington Steele)

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Kasandra Brundidge’s journey through breast cancer, motherhood and marathon training

By Chanda Temple

Six weeks after giving birth to her second son, Kasandra Brundidge went in for what she thought would be a routine checkup. It wasn’t.

Doctors told her she had stage 0 breast cancer. A month later in November 2007, the cancer had advanced to Stage 2, Triple Negative.

For five years, she had been trying to get a mammogram. But every time she was to go in, she was either pregnant or sick. (She had experienced four miscarriages before her second son was born in September 2007. )

Her diagnosis was crushing news. But Kasandra was determined to fight the disease. She had 18 founds of chemo and then 32 rounds of radiation. Testing also revealed she had the breast cancer gene. In May 2009, she had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

Kasandra Brundidge (Photo provided by Kasandra Brundidge)
Kasandra Brundidge (Photo provided by Kasandra Brundidge)

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Married 34 years, Dr. Jacqueline Stewart still chooses love and lunch every Friday

Every time they are together, Birmingham Pediatrician Jacqueline Stewart and George W. Stewart are caught in the same dilemma: What will we eat?

It’s a small moment, but it’s their moment until they eventually make a decision.

Salads. Check.

Sandwiches. Check.

Fried Fish. Check! Check! Check!

Dr. Jacqueline Stewart (Photo source: Facebook)
Dr. Jacqueline Stewart (Photo source: Facebook)

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The signs of breast cancer aren’t always the same for everyone

By Chanda Temple

Maranda LaRussa knew that lumps in one’s breast could be a sign of cancer. But never had she heard about itchy breasts possibly being a sign.

So, when her breasts started to itch in the summer of 2018, she thought it was odd. Then in October 2018, she experienced pain when she touched a lump in her breast. Immediately, she contacted her doctor.

She went in for an ultrasound. Test results showed it was cancer. A few weeks later, she learned she had Stage 3A breast cancer. She felt like if she had known about itchy breasts, she could have gotten her breasts checked earlier.

“But I ‘m glad that I noticed my symptoms, I was vigilant, and I moved as soon as I could,” she said.  

Maranda LaRussa (Photo by Taneisha Tucker Photography)
Maranda LaRussa (Photo by Taneisha Tucker Photography)

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