NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A woman is using her hardest days to direct her new path in life. Her talents and life experiences are going into the way she's decided to help people.
"Oh, I'm so ready," said Tawana Mitchhart, getting ready to do a facial for Amanda Williams.
"When do you think you had your last facial?" Tawana asked.
"Six years," laughed Amanda.
You know when you've found your calling. Tawana did.
"We're just called an esthetician," Tawana explained of her work. "We help you cleanse the skin, take care of the skin."
Back in 2020, Tawana opened her own little business space.
"I just jumped up and down and cried," she remembered. "It was one of the best days of my life."
It was quickly followed by one of her worst days. Tawana had to close her business after an unexpected diagnosis.
"Triple-negative breast cancer," she said. "It does not respond to traditional treatment. It is metastatic. I got that on top of everything else. I did have to have a bilateral mastectomy. They removed both of [my breasts]. I had a lot of infections, 20 rounds of chemo, neuropathy, 30 rounds of radiation. There were days that I thought this is not worth it, but then I look at my family and realize how worth it it is and how long I want to be around."
"I had a lot of splotches on my skin," Tawana continued. "It was burned, and it was peeling."
With her background, that was something Tawana could handle with natural skin care treatments. That's when she had a light bulb moment.
"I'm just like, 'God, what do you want me to do?'" Tawana remembered. "It was not to open back up and charge people. It was to open back up and help people like myself."
Tawana is now Pinky, the mobile skin coach. Her nonprofit works out of available spaces, coming directly to people. She gives free skincare and life coaching to those who have lived with cancer. It's people like Amanda, who is in remission.
"I've been in the trenches where these women are," Tawana said.
Opening that business in 2020 was a great day, but Tawana's work now is her purpose.
"Besides being a wonderful wife and mom, this is what I'm supposed to do," Tawana smiled.
"I think it's amazing she's taken this journey and is able to help so many others," Amanda said.
"I am going to be 44-years-old next week, and it's taken me 44 years to find my purpose, and this is it for me," Tawana said.
Tawana is raising money now for a van, camper, or RV she can convert into a healthy skin care unit. To help her with the effort, go to her GoFundMe page here.
