GREENBACK, Tenn. — Inside Greenback Diner, two breast cancer survivors behind the grill share a special bond. They always take time to serve up support.
Everyone who walks through the doors of the diner in Loudon County feels like family, and the food brings comfort to the customers. But at this rural restaurant, every meal on the menu comes with a side of strength.
Tammy Tallent is the owner of the diner and has been since 2017. The journey of operating the community staple hasn't always been easy. In fact, the sale of the diner happened while she was battling breast cancer.
"It was really scary," Tallent said. "But when you stand back here and you hear all this noise behind you, people talking, and that's the joy of it, and that's what I enjoy best."
She first found out she had breast cancer after getting a mammogram. Tallent had surgery and started her healing journey alongside friends and family who supported her.
"I'm very proud to be a survivor," she said. "I went through it. It was what I had to go through, and it made me stronger, I think."
Now, she uses her fight to encourage friends who may be battling breast cancer. In 2020, that's exactly what happened with diner employee Teresa Long.
"When [Tammy] found out she had breast cancer, I thought, I better start having these mammograms," Long said.
About two years passed and the pandemic started. Still, she continued to have mammograms. In December, Long learned plenty would soon fill her plate too.
"I was sitting at home, my doctor calls me, my family doctor, he never calls," Long said. "I go, 'Why are you calling me?' And he goes, 'Theresa, you have breast cancer.'"
At that moment, she knew she had to fight. She went through 26 radiation treatments. Because she kept up with her checks, she was able to catch the cancer early.
The diagnosis was a shock, because only one person in her family had ever had breast cancer, and it was her great-grandfather.
Long focused on the positives rather than the negatives and really leaned on her family and friendships to help fuel her fight.
"Even now, it's something that you don't expect, but you have a friend to share it with, who will help you," she said.
Long didn't work at the diner at the time of her diagnosis, but she does now. Long and Tallent's special bond is something they treasure, whether they are standing behind the grill, serving customers or preparing food.
Both Long and Tallent wear pink ribbons with pride as tattoos.
"If you're gonna go through it, might as well be proud of it," Long said.
Long actually got one of her pink ribbon tattoos in support of one of her friends, years before her own diagnosis.
When customers see the tattoos, conversations are cooked up.
"I have customers that come through who have been through the same thing, and they'll hug me and say, 'You know, we're sisters now,'" Tallent said.
Two survivors, serving up strength, side by side.
The Greenback Diner is open Tuesday through Saturday. They are also raising money for a new floor at the 101-year-old restaurant. If you would like to donate, you can message their Facebook page.