We recently connected with Cara Thurman and have shared our conversation below.

Cara , appreciate you joining us today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

A Heart for Healing

I was born with a broken heart—literally. Tricuspid Atresia meant that from the very beginning, my life was shaped by operating rooms, monitors, and long hospital stays. By the time I was an adult, I had already undergone five open-heart surgeries. The scars on my chest told the story, but so did the chronic pain, the anxiety of being a patient, and the fear that seemed to live in every corner of a medical setting.

In 2009, I faced a 12-hour open-heart surgery that changed everything. It was grueling, and the recovery stretched me in ways I didn’t know I could endure. But it also gave me a gift: clarity. I realized that my years of pain, fear, and vulnerability weren’t just obstacles—they were pointing me toward my calling. I wanted to create a different kind of care experience, one where patients felt seen, comforted, and supported in the very moments when they needed it most.

That calling led me to massage therapy, and eventually to specialize in oncology and hospital-based massage therapy. From the very beginning, I knew this was where I belonged. I understood, in my bones, what it meant to be a patient who longed for relief, compassion, and a moment of peace. And I also understood the power of safe, skilled touch to ease not just physical pain, but emotional burden.

In 2012, I founded Vinings Massage & Wellness, where that vision could grow into something larger than myself. Over the years, we’ve built strong partnerships with medical systems and nonprofits across metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia, bringing oncology massage therapy into infusion centers, hospital rooms, and our own wellness center. I’ve built a team of oncology-trained massage therapists who are not only skilled but also deeply compassionate—people who can meet patients, survivors, and caregivers wherever they are in their journey. We support each other as much as we support our clients, and that strength allows us to keep showing up for the hard, beautiful, meaningful work we do.

I also carry with me a profound respect for healthcare workers. Having lived so much of my life in hospitals, I know the toll caregiving can take. That’s why at Vinings Massage & Wellness, we partner with two major hospital systems to provide employee massage therapy throughout the entire state of Georgia. Caring for the caregivers feels just as important as caring for the patients.

Now, as both the owner of Vinings Massage & Wellness and a nationally certified instructor of oncology massage therapy continuing education, I have the privilege of expanding this mission even further. I train other massage therapists to safely and compassionately serve people living with illness, ensuring that more patients across the country can access these services. The research confirms what my heart has always known: massage therapy can reduce pain, stress, anxiety, and nausea, and it can offer a profound improvement in quality of life. Every therapist I train means more patients and families will experience that relief.

Our work is as varied as it is impactful. We’ve taught women at high risk of heart disease new ways to care for themselves. We’ve brought comfort to patients in intensive care units just 48 hours after surgery. We’ve provided healing touch for young breast cancer survivors in retreat settings. And every single time, I see the same truth: when you meet someone in their most vulnerable moment with gentleness and care, you change that moment—and sometimes, you change everything.

Looking back, I can see how my broken heart led me here. What began in pain and fear has transformed into purpose and connection. My scars no longer just tell the story of survival; they tell the story of why I do this work. At Vinings Massage & Wellness, our mission is clear: to bring comfort, compassion, and skilled touch to patients, caregivers, and healthcare workers alike. Because healing comes in many forms, and sometimes the most powerful medicine is the simple act of being present—with heart and with hands.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

At Vinings Massage & Wellness, we are proud to offer a full-service wellness center that serves as a natural extension of our hospital-based massage therapy programs. Our center was designed to provide a calm and restorative environment for clients seeking both clinical expertise and compassionate care.

Our talented team of therapists specializes in a wide range of services tailored to meet the needs of our diverse community:

Pre- and Postnatal Massage – Supporting mothers during pregnancy and recovery with safe, nurturing care.

Manual Lymph Drainage Massage – Gentle techniques to encourage lymphatic flow, reduce swelling, and support immune health.

Sports Massage – Targeted therapy to improve performance, recovery, and mobility for athletes of all levels.

Cupping Therapy – A time-tested practice to release tension, improve circulation, and restore balance.

CBD Massage – Enhancing relaxation and pain relief with the therapeutic benefits of CBD.

Oncology Massage – Specialized, adaptive massage for medically frail clients, cancer patients, and survivors, delivered with skill and compassion.

Whether you are seeking support for a medical condition, relief from chronic pain, or a wellness-focused treatment to restore balance, our center provides a safe and supportive space to heal.

At Vinings Massage & Wellness, we are more than a wellness center—we are a dedicated team committed to making massage therapy accessible, professional, and deeply restorative for every client who walks through our doors.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

For me, massage therapy has never been just a profession—it is truly a calling. I could never imagine choosing another path. It took me until my mid-30s to fully recognize it, but when I look back, the pieces have always been there.

In my 20s, I had a restless spirit and a deep desire to see the world. I worked seasonally at resorts and national parks, traveling everywhere from St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands to Colorado, Jackson Hole (Wyoming), Hawaii, Alaska, the Turks and Caicos Islands, crewing on a sailboat off the coast of Maine and the West Coast of Florida, and beyond. Each stop along the way gave me life experience, perspective, and connection with people from all walks of life. Some might say I took the long way around—but I know with certainty that every step led me right here.

By the time I entered my 30s, the calling became undeniable. My personal health journey, combined with my love of service and healing, brought me fully into the world of massage therapy. Today, as the owner of Vinings Massage & Wellness and leader of our hospital-based programs, I see how everything I experienced prepared me for this work.

Massage therapy isn’t something I “do”—it is who I am. Every client I serve, every therapist I mentor, and every patient we support through oncology and hospital-based massage therapy reminds me: this was always the path I was meant to walk.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

At Vinings Massage & Wellness, our reputation has been built on a foundation of trust, gratitude, and unwavering commitment. No matter how much we grow, every client, every patient, and every partnership remains deeply important to us. We are truly grateful each time someone chooses us, and we honor the trust and investment they place in our care.

We believe that kindness, teamwork, and lifting others up are essential to everything we do. These values shape not only the way we serve our clients, but also how we support one another as a team.

Our mission is two-fold:

To provide the highest quality care to every client we serve and partnership we enter into.

To create a safe, sustainable, and supportive environment for our practitioners and team members to thrive.

This balance—between excellence in service and care for our team—has been the heartbeat of our work and the reason our reputation continues to grow. We know that when our practitioners are nurtured, respected, and supported, they are able to give their very best to the clients who trust us with their health and well-being.

At Vinings Massage & Wellness, we don’t take success for granted. We carry it with gratitude, knowing that it is built one relationship, one act of care, and one moment of trust at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://viningsmassage.com/
• Instagram: vinings_massage
• Facebook: viningsmassage&wellness

Image Credits

Members of our team took all of these photos