At the age of 52, after the passing of my sister from ovarian cancer and the high incidence of other family cancers, I opted to have preventative bilateral mastectomy and breast reconstruction. As part of my recovery, I found TurningPoint. I was welcomed by the entire TP staff who treated me like a true friend as they provided physical therapy and compassion, helping me get back to my ‘normal’ after the mastectomy and reconstructive breast surgeries.
Two years later at age 54, imagine my shock when I discovered a lump under my right arm. Biopsy results showed that it was breast cancer, stage 3a. I had to have more surgeries, chemo, radiation, and 49 lymph nodes removed. I was left with daily pain, tenderness, the risk of lymphedema, lack of motion and neuropathy causing bad balance. But the worse part was the intense discouragement and sadness I felt after being so proactive with my health. This time, I had to work even harder to regain my ‘normal’ so I could enjoy an active life with my loving and supportive family (husband Randy, daughter Erica, age 22 and son Sean, age 20) and the activities I enjoy the most: walking, hiking, gardening and cooking.
I returned to my TurningPoint ‘family’, who were an essential part of my recovery. I was relieved to see the welcoming smiles and again feel the compassion of the entire staff. My TP ‘family’ provided me with strong encouragement and hope, smiles and friendship and so much more. They provided targeted and knowledgeable physical therapy, lymph massage and techniques to help me heal and return to my normal life and the activities that I treasure most. The TurningPoint staff members are among my most treasured friends!
 I strongly recommend TurningPoint to all people going through the side effects of breast cancer treatment.
