Staff Spotlight: Meera Solomon, LMT, CES
Meera is an oncology massage therapist specializing in breast cancer rehabilitation. She has been a licensed massage therapist since 2007. Meera combines her experience working in both spas and clinical settings to provide an experience that blends the best of both worlds—relaxing and therapeutic, safe and effective. Prior to joining the staff at TurningPoint in 2014, Meera provided massage therapy to patients at radiation oncology offices in the Atlanta area, as well as helped prepare and instruct continuing education classes on massage for people living with cancer. Meera is the only massage therapist to have completed the American Physical Therapy Association Oncology Section’s Certified Edema Specialist training program. Whether your goals are to find relief from pain and tightness, manage lymphedema, post-surgery swelling, or relaxation, Meera will customize each session to your needs. Outside of TurningPoint, Meera is active in animal rescue and enjoys reading, practicing yoga, and running and hiking with her dogs.
You can #MakeItPersonal
Some Tips for Participating in TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation’s #MakeItPersonal Campaign As we celebrate TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation’s 15th anniversary this fall and into 2019, we are inviting and welcoming you to tell your individual stories regarding your respective journeys with breast cancer. The ultimate goal of the #MakeItPersonal campaign during this milestone is to increase awareness for TurningPoint, both for those supporting and battling breast cancer. If this effort builds significant momentum, we will be making a difference for years to come in metro Atlanta and beyond. It is the moving, inspiring stories of our patients, staff, volunteers and supporters that do the best job of capturing the essence and uniqueness of TurningPoint. Additionally, such stories often describe the many benefits TurningPoint provides for the women and men served. We invite you to tell your story through videos, photos, and or writing and ask that you limit your videos to 1 minute 30 seconds. We would love to share your inspiring journey and how TurningPoint helped play a role in it on whatever social media platform you feel most comfortable with—be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. In doing this, we ask that you address any aspects of your journey but with specific reference to TurningPoint’s role in your journey. ∞ ∞ ∞ In responding to this query, will you please consider answering the following questions? How and why are you involved with TurningPoint? What was the thing you value most from your association with TurningPoint? What made your experience at TurningPoint unique to your journey? Can you talk about the staff and the specific help they provided you and your family? How did TurningPoint impact your physical abilities and the return to participating in activities you did prior to learning about your breast cancer diagnosis. When you tell your story via video, here are some important tips to keep in mind. Find a quiet, comfortable place to record without any distractions; minimize the potential for disruption You don’t need a script but have a pretty good idea of what you’d like to say before you record. This will make the process go faster and more smoothly. Be authentic/be yourself as we want to know how TurningPoint most impacted your journey. If people understand how TurningPoint affects a breast cancer patient or the loved one of a TurningPoint patient, it helps on multiple levels, including increasing awareness to patients, caregivers, and doctors in the entire breast cancer community. When you post by way of relevant social media, we ask that you reference the official hashtag #MakeItPersonal (note M, I and P are all capitalized to help read it more easily) and TurningPoint’s handle @TurningPointBCR    Feel free to also reference other hashtags such as #breastcancer, #physicaltherapy and #cancercare Also, be sure to follow TurningPoint on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TurningPointBCR/ and share posts you see pertaining to #MakeItPersonal. Here are 9 examples of sample verbiage to use (please attach some image, video, or link to accompany this as the visual element of social media is so powerful and compelling.) *    During my breast cancer journey @TurningPointBCR served an invaluable role helping me become cancer free. I will never forget the indelible impact the organization left on me and my family during the peaks and valleys of my experience. I’m forever grateful. #MakeItPersonal *    I didn’t know what steps to take following my treatment plan for breast cancer three years ago. Fortunately, I came across @TurningPointBCR & its compassionate staff and will never forget the tears, smiles, screams and laughs that helped in my recovery. #MakeItPersonal *    I will always consider my time as a patient with @TurningPointBCR as the most important part of journey beating breast cancer. Without the love and support of their amazing staff and fellow patients, I don’t know that I would have found the strength to survive. #MakeItPersonal *    I always think about @TurningPointBCR for the game-changing support helping me in my battle against breast cancer.  I would not be here today without TP’s extraordinary staff helping me with physical and massage therapy. #MakeItPersonal *    It wasn’t until I went to @TurningPointBCR where I regained strength and was able to lift my ## year old child again. I will remember the real warmth and support every member of the staff showed toward me and my family. I wouldn’t be here today without it!  #MakeItPersonal *    For anyone battling breast cancer you should learn about @TurningPointBCR. It’s a unique nonprofit in metro Atlanta focused on survivorship, helping one with breast cancer feel better faster and fully return to engage in activities enjoyed before the bc diagnosis. #MakeItPersonal *    @TurningPointBCR supports women and men of all backgrounds on the way to a full recovery, providing services such as physical & massage therapy. #MakeItPersonal *    What stands out the most about my experience with breast cancer is the time I spent @TurningPointBCR. The organization helped me feel better mentally, physically and psychologically and brought me back to my family. Everyone with breast cancer needs to know about this hidden gem. #MakeItPersonal *    If I didn’t learn about @TurningPointBCR while battling breast cancer, I don’t know that I’d be here as a survivor today. The nonprofit’s genuine and skilled staff brought me back to being myself again for my family and friends. And now I have a new lease on life! #MakeItPersonal Thank you so much in advance for your support and help boosting the critical work and mission of TurningPoint!
Patient Perspective: Jodie
I was diagnosed in Jan. 2017, with breast cancer in both breasts. I had a double mastectomy in February and then an axillary node dissection which removed all my lymph nodes on the right side. I had 16 rounds of chemo and 32 rounds of radiation. I first started going to TurningPoint after my surgeries, because I could barely lift my arms over my head. They were amazing and got me back to where I could reach into my top cabinets again and could start lifting light weights. I went back to TurningPoint after my radiation was complete because my right side was so stiff. The radiation treatment really inhibited my right side and I was again unable to lift my right arm over my head, and I was in a lot of pain. Once again TurningPoint got me back to a sense of normalcy. I am now able to fully reach over my head, and I’ve started lifting weights again. The pain in my arm and shoulder has almost completely gone. I still go to TurningPoint about once a month to work on my range of motion. I really don’t know where I would be without them! When I think back to how stiff and tight I was after the surgery and then radiation, it’s amazing the difference! I’m truly grateful for them.
Patient Perspective: Jody
In January of 2015, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was fortunate in that my cancer was caught early, but there were still decisions to be made and treatments to be selected. With all the information and guidance I was given by my doctors during the diagnosis period, leading up to surgery, and post-op follow up visits with doctors, I had no information about what life would be like after breast cancer. More importantly, I had no idea how to get myself back to the active and independent woman I was prior to my diagnosis. About three months after finding out that I had breast cancer I was given the diagnosis of cording, and that is when I was referred to TurningPoint for physical therapy. With everything there was to worry about with a breast cancer diagnosis, it had never entered my mind that I could wind up with such a limited range of motion that it would negatively impact my life. At TurningPoint, the physical therapists have a comprehensive understanding of the issues that are specific to breast cancer, breast cancer surgeries, and breast cancer treatments. I left my first physical therapy session feeling relieved, encouraged, and confident that I could get back to functioning as I did prior to breast cancer. My physical therapist sent me home that first day with a stretching program that she revised weekly as my range of motion increased. Every therapy session made a positive impact on my condition, and I saw myself improving daily as I continued to work on my home program. Now that I am three and a half years cancer free, TurningPoint is still a big part of my life. My favorite thing about TurningPoint now is the Wednesday morning Pilates Class that I have been participating in for the past 3 years. Pilates has become the core of my personal wellness program. It is my one hour a week when I do something good for myself, led by an instructor who knows exactly what I need to focus on, with a group of women who have walked parallel journeys to mine. TurningPoint Pilates is exercise, therapy, compassion, and camaraderie. Â Our instructor tailors the class to breast cancer survivors, but she also advises, educates, and facilitates discussions, adding an educational component to our weekly class. At 60 years old, I am stronger, more flexible, and more knowledgeable about wellness than I have ever been. TurningPoint has been invaluable not only to my recovery, but to my maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
