Meet Holly Rose | Founder/CEO of Check for a Lump

We had the good fortune of connecting with Holly Rose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Holly, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think taking risks are what open up the possibilities to many different chapters in one’s life and the potential for growth. That is definitely the case for myself. However, in my opinion my risks were not indeed risks. They were merely actions I made with high enthusiasm and relentless optimistic thoughts of “I CAN.” My entire adult life has been a series of these actions and has given me many beautiful chapters in my life and a few I that were not so beautiful that I learned from. A few of my favorite risks that impacted my life immensely . . . I met my dream man on the beach at the age of twenty-two and I asked him to move in with me two weeks later – Risky? Yes! Twenty-nine years later he is still my dream man and father of our two beautiful girls. We then blindly moved to Las Vegas for a fresh start and opened our 1st vintage clothing store together while finishing college. That college summer we hopped in our car with $300 a trunk full of vintage clothing and stopped in cities along the way to sell our thrift store finds to other businesses. We made our way across the United States and back! Two years later we sold our business and made the leap to San Diego with a U-Haul filled our belongings and a dream to live by the beach. Luck was on our side and within twenty-four hours we found a beachside storefront with living quarters in the back. Highly risky move, but one of the best chapters of my life! After having our girls we played it safe and moved back to our hometown, Phoenix, Az. to be near family. I lived as risk free as possible when our girls were young. It wasn’t until after I battled breast cancer at the age of 39 that I took another giant risk – starting a breast cancer non-profit, Check for a Lump. This led me to explore paths I never would have dared to go down, and I developed strengths, met incredible mentors, impacted many lives, and blessed to witness the giving spirit in humanity. We’ll see where my next risk leads me!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Over the past eleven years with the help from my community and taking giant leaps of faith, Check for a Lump (checkforalump.org) has become a prominent figure in our breast cancer community providing free breast health education, mammograms, testing and direct assistance with wigs, support and resources. We are a unique one-stop shop for breast health services in Arizona. Each program of ours is like a child of my own and I’m uniquely proud of each. I’m most proud of our community coming together providing support, mentoring, and a bright giving spirit that has propelled our non-profit to great heights. For me personally, it was no easy task getting here. I had no idea the monstrous test of courage I was about to undertake when I decided to start a non-profit. I had been painfully shy my entire life. My social anxiety filled me with fear, especially a fear of ever having to speak in public, but after my cancer journey, I had a deep passion to give back. It was almost as if God had spoken to me or rather yelled at me and said, “Holly, THIS is your purpose in life. Now go. Share with the world.” This meant I would have to stand up and speak and share my story, my joy, my pain, my tears, EVERYTHING in public! And so, I faced my fears and I pushed my boundaries. I placed myself in front of large crowds and I stood trembling before people, my voice quivering, my hands shaking and my legs wobbling. I was horrible and humiliated, but I went right back out there and I did it again and again and again. In pursuing my passion, I found out what taking risks really meant for me. It meant to be afraid and yet still walk into the darkness. To fall and be utterly humiliated in front of others, and to get back up again not knowing the outcome. It meant to be vulnerable, and be okay with that. It meant to believe in myself and say, “I CAN.” and I did just that!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh! I love sharing fun itineraries! Let’s assume pre-Covid times are in place. We would head to the Cambria downtown for a stunning Phoenician rooftop sunset view and then make our way to the Crescent Ballroom for dinner and some live music. Next day we’d go hike South Mountain followed by my favorite local Mexican food Barrio Cafe! Then I’d plan a quick overnight trip to Bisbee, Az. tour the mines and the walk back in time, stroll the hilly boutique streets and enjoy live music and some beers. Back in Phoenix we would spent a day shopping in all of the vintage shops off of 7th Ave, my favorite Modern on Melrose, a must stop at The Record Room, and winding down for dinner in the basement of the Rokerij. Then I think an overnight at Civana is due for a girl’s spa day, wine, laughs and if we didn’t drink too much wine another morning hike in Cave Creek. I’m ready to go!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve been fortunate to have so many amazing mentors in my life, however my Shoutout goes to my handsome hubby, John, who has always been my hero and dared to take every risk with me!

Website: www.checkforalump.org

Instagram: @checkforalumpaz

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/don’t-be-a-chump-check-for-a-lump-

Twitter: @checkforalump

Facebook: www.facebook.com/checkforalump

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_IMQCDRwn1WuMs6kNW8g3g

Other: Personal Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/horose/