We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jill Binkley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jill, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about how and why you went about setting up a practice that is also a non-profit organization.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, at age 42 and with 3 young children under 12. I was an orthopaedic physical therapist, loving my role as college professor, clinician, and mom. Through my recovery, I realized that there was, and still is, a huge gap in recovery support for women and men going through breast cancer. There are significant physical and emotional side effects of breast cancer treatment, and most survivors are not referred for critical rehabilitation that have been shown to be effective in reducing and preventing these issues. This was a moment of clarity of purpose for me and I pivoted my career to specialize in breast cancer oncology rehabilitation. I founded TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation, a non-profit 501c3 healthcare organization, in 2003 in Atlanta. The organization has grown to a $1.4 million budget with 12 specialized oncology clinicians providing physical therapy, massage therapy, counseling, nutrition, and exercise. As a non-profit, no patient is turned away due to financial contraints, and many programs and services are complimentary or reduced-fee. TurningPoint is engaged in improving the lives of breast cancer survivors locally, nationally and global through outreach and advocacy, with particular attention to racial, economic and geographic causes of disparity in survivorship outcomes.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am the Program Director and Founder of TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation, a non-profit 501(c)3 healthcare organization in Atlanta, Georgia. I have many years of experience as a clinician and educator in the fields of breast cancer rehabilitation, orthopaedic physical therapy and manual therapy. I am a Certified Lymphedema Therapist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy. I have published about 25 peer-reviewed publications and have had the opportunity to present locally, nationally and internationally on outcome measurement in physical therapy and breast cancer rehabilitation. As a breast cancer survivor myself, I am passionate about bringing increased attention to the unmet physical and emotional side effects of breast cancer treatment and the role of rehabilitation and exercise in improving the quality of life of breast cancer survivors. I am a member of the Academy of Oncologic Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association and serve on the Editorial Board of Rehabilitation Oncology. I am the mom of 3 great adult children and 2 wonderful grandchildren.

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

Absolutely not! My job is my passion, my life mission and changes the lives of other women going through breast cancer. They say if you love your work, you won’t work a day in your life…that’s me!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Consistently providing the absolutely best quality of care that is evidence-based while being compassionate and empathetic to the women and men our organization serves. Thinking outside the box in order to become a thought leader in the field and being patient to build a reputation of excellence over time.

Contact Info:

• Website: myturningpoint.org
• Instagram: turningpointBCR
• Facebook: TurningPointBCR
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/turning-point-breast-cancer-rehabilitation/
• Youtube: TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation