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On Wednesday, the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce celebrated the opening of Community Family Foundation on Whitesville Road in LaGrange.

Owner Melsnease Render has big plans for the location, hoping to help seniors and instruct people in the beauty industry.

“I’m empowering the beauty industry and doing outreach for seniors, helping people with clothes, food and Christian counseling,” Render said.

Half of the location is a beauty salon where Render offers hair styling, manicures and other cosmetology services, and teaches cosmetology. The other half is a community center and food bank to help seniors.

Render taught cosmetology at West Georgia Tech and Columbus Tech before having to stop in 2000 due to an ovarian cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, she has made a full recovery despite a recent scare.

Render said last year, around June, she began having pain in her left side. Doctors later found a mass and told her it was cancer.

“I had to stop everything. They ran a test and said it was cancer. They never told me what kind of it was. They never told me anything. They just said this little mass,” Render said.

Render said she did radiation and chemotherapy until November. The pain continued, but doctors told Render it would be difficult to remove the mass due to its location, saying it could do nerve damage.

Fortunately, to her relief, Render soon learned what was happening in her body.

“I found out really what was going on with me two months ago,” Render said. “It never was cancer. It was scar tissue from the first [cancer] surgery.”

Render said even though she needlessly went through chemo and radiation, it was a relief to still be cancer-free.

“I got up, and I just took off. That’s made me get up in here so I can try to help somebody,” she said.

So, for the last three months, Render has been working to help seniors along with styling hair and teaching others how to do so.

“That’s why y’all see me running,” she said.

Community Family Foundation is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1802 Whitesville Road in LaGrange.