TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation celebrates 20 years, executive director reflects on impacts

7/08/2024, Saporta Report

TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is marking 20 years of providing essential survivorship services designed to enhance the quality of life for breast cancer patients of all backgrounds, including men, facing a myriad of challenges in their respective journeys to a full recovery. 

As the only nonprofit organization of its kind in Georgia and throughout the Southeast, TurningPoint holds a special place in my heart as my mother continues her breast cancer journey at the age of 89. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law fought her battle valiantly for three years; however, she passed away when she was only 50. I’m also inspired every day by those remarkable patients and survivors who walk through the doors of our two clinics in Sandy Springs and downtown Atlanta, respectively.  They — along with nearly 20,000 women and men in Georgia — are such extraordinary warriors and handle themselves with amazing strength, perseverance and grace. 

Lois Rusco became TurningPoint’s Executive Director in February 2024. She formerly served as Treasurer on the Executive Committee of TurningPoint’s Board of Directors, and then joined the staff early in 2023 as Development Director, followed by a five-month stint as Interim Executive Director. She oversees programs, fundraising, and all aspects of operations for TurningPoint’s two clinics.

Jill Binkley, our visionary founder, a two-time breast cancer survivor and physical therapist, established TurningPoint in 2003 as she saw firsthand a significant gap in rehabilitative care available to breast cancer patients. A simple task such as reaching for a plate, combing your hair, lifting a child, or swinging a tennis racket could be challenging, if not impossible. Since its inception, TurningPoint has been steadfast in its commitment to providing specialized and evidence-based rehabilitation services tailored to meet the unique needs of breast cancer patients. 

As part of our mission to improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients, our comprehensive approach to rehabilitation includes a range of services: one-on-one customized physical therapy, massage therapy, nutritional counseling, lymphedema screening and management, emotional support, and tailored fitness classes. We believe in addressing the holistic needs of each patient, recognizing that physical, emotional, and psychological well-being are all interconnected aspects of healing. 

TurningPoint also focuses on reducing socioeconomic, racial, cultural and geographic barriers to care, so we continue to develop programs on this front. To this end, we have implemented two programs: The Atlanta Initiative and The Georgia Outreach Initiative.

The Atlanta Initiative began as a pilot program in late 2021 that works alongside the community to directly impact underserved black and LGBTQIA+ breast cancer survivors in downtown and south Atlanta. There are considerable short and long-term physical, functional and emotional issues facing all breast cancer patients that impact their quality of life, including limited range of motion, lack of mobility, decreased arm strength, and swollen lymph nodes. 

Active engagement in rehabilitation and exercise activities has been shown to drastically reduce these painful issues and, just as importantly, can prevent the recurrence of cancer. Research also documents racial disparity in breast cancer survivorship outcomes for Black and LGBTQIA+ patients due to various barriers to care, including discrimination, lack of accessibility to quality care, as well as socioeconomic, age and geographical constraints.

The Atlanta Initiative utilizes a culturally relevant and community-based approach to reduce these known obstacles and facilitates the expansion of community resources to reach these underserved populations. During our pilot program of the Atlanta Initiative, one of our Atlanta Community Partners, the Center for Black Women’s Wellness (CBWW), allowed TurningPoint to treat patients in a shared space at their local facility one day per week.

The success of the pilot led to additional funding provided through September 2025 from an anonymous local grantor to expand the Atlanta Initiative to a broader Black audience and include the LGBTQIA+ community. Since our partnership launched with CBWW in September 2022, we have provided treatment for more than 1,700 patient visits.  And since we opened our satellite clinic in downtown Atlanta in September 2023 – currently open three days a week — we have grown our average number of patient visits by 64 percent.  

Nearly 90 percent of those treated at the Atlanta satellite clinic are Black and/or LGBTQIA+ breast cancer patients. Because we are dedicated to turning no patient away, we have provided full or partial financial assistance to more than 50 percent of patients at this clinic. To decrease the burden on geographic and transportation barriers to care, TurningPoint offers transportation assistance and schedules virtual appointments through the Atlanta Initiative.  

Secondly, the Georgia Outreach Initiative — equally critical to our patients and survivors — began in January 2022 with a focus on reaching rural areas of Georgia where accessibility to quality care can be difficult and nearly 70 percent of the population are un- or under-insured making affordable care very difficult to find. TurningPoint currently receives grant funding through the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education (CORE) to continue with this initiative and expand its reach into counties not currently served. 

Since 2022, we have reached 150 new patients living in 16 counties outside metro Atlanta who are treated with specialized rehabilitation services, including physical therapy, support groups, nutritional support and exercise. TurningPoint had not provided services in these counties before that point. These visits are primarily conducted through telehealth, with approximately one-third of these patients receiving a hybrid model of care, both in-clinic and virtual. Transportation and financial assistance are also made available to nearly 20 percent of this patient population.

Former TurningPoint patient and breast cancer survivor Natalie Colbert-Carpenter wrote the following:

“My personal experience with TurningPoint has been nothing short of transformative as they played a pivotal role in improving my mobility, health and mental well-being after cancer, a double mastectomy, and reconstructive surgery. I am acutely aware that many Black women and women of color face barriers getting to TurningPoint because of location and financial constraints. The expansion of TurningPoint to a location in downtown Atlanta is a commendable initiative that aims to bridge the accessibility gap.”

As we look ahead to another two decades of providing breast cancer patients the necessary strength to not only survive but thrive in all aspects of their lives after cancer, TurningPoint will remain committed to providing specialized and compassionate care that will enhance the lives of all breast cancer patients and survivors. We will prioritize reducing barriers to care — turning no one away due to an inability to pay or provide adequate insurance coverage — while making available a safe and accessible space for our core services. 

The long-term sustainability and success of our clinics and programs are entirely reliant on continued donations, grants, special events, and other sources of funding. If you have an interest in learning more and supporting breast cancer survivors on their life-changing journeys to making a full recovery and becoming cancer-free, please reach out to me at lrusco@myturningpoint.org or visit our website at myturningpoint.org

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