Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton’s annual Thanksgiving dinner will feel a little different this year.
The two unlikely friends took to X on Oct. 16 to share “a special message from Wanda.” In the message, they revealed that the 67-year-old “Thanksgiving Grandma” was diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
“Earlier this year I came down with bronchitis and had a CT scan to check out my lungs,” Dench wrote. Her doctors sent her in for a mammogram, and the diagnosis came shortly after.
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“Cancer does not run in my family and all the mammograms I have in the past were always negative,” she continued in the message, which was posted to Hinton’s X and Instagram accounts.
Dench is currently going through chemotherapy and is being cared for by the “most wonderful people at the Breast Cancer Center,” who she described as “kind, supportive, and knowledgeable.”
“My family and friends quickly came to my aid and have supported me through everything,” she wrote.
Dench shares the biggest life lesson she has learned
When Dench went in for a routine mammogram in 2022, she thought it was the last time she would have to worry about it. Two years later, she’s now undergoing rounds of chemotherapy.
Towards the end of her message, Dench took a moment to share what she feels is one of the most impactful life lessons she has learned in her 67 years.
“I’ve learned a lot of life lessons through it all,” she wrote. “But what I want to stress most of all is just because you may be older, we still have a life to live.”
And that goes for her romantic life, as well. While her husband passed away due to COVID-19 complications in 2020, she says she still has hope that she can find love in her later years.
“So continue getting your checkups, and continue to live YOUR life,” she continued.
She concluded the note with a Biblical quote. “‘She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.’ Proverbs 31:25.”
Hinton and Dench plan on meeting for ninth year in a row
For those who don’t remember, Hinton and Dench went viral in 2016 when the latter invited the former, via text message, to a Thanksgiving dinner with her family. At the time, they were complete strangers.
Dench had meant to send the text to her grandson, but accidentally sent the note to the wrong number. Hinton was on the other end of that number, and jokingly asked if he could “still get a plate” with her family.
“Of course you can… That’s what grandma’s do, feed every one,” she replied.
She accepted the proposal and the two have been friends ever since, despite their nearly 40-year age gap.
They’ve now enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner together for eight years in a row. Last year, they invited another stranger to join them for their dinner. And this year, they’re going to make it nine years straight!
During that time, the two have launched an alkaline black water business and have even appeared on the game show The Cube, which aired on June 4, 2023. Netflix was also rumored to be interested in making a featured film about their story.
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Dench says she became comfortable meeting strangers because she had to move often due to her father and husband being in the military. Her story is a reminder that good people still exist in the world.