Agalia Baker, author of “If Cancer is a Gift Can I Return It?” and a retired advanced practice nurse with more than 40 years of experience, will speak at Arkansas Tech University on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Baker will appear at 6 p.m. in Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center room 300B, 305 West Q Street on the ATU campus in Russellville. Admission will be free and open to the public.
The event is part of the Pendergraft Library and Technology Center Author Series.
A breast cancer survivor, Baker said she felt unprepared to mentally and emotionally process her diagnosis.
“I wrote this book because I went through breast cancer realizing that I needed help that I could not find at the time,” said Baker. “Writing a how-to book on breast cancer is not possible because there are too many variables. The needs of someone diagnosed in their 50s are different from those diagnosed in their 30s. Cancer types, prognoses and treatments are so different, but I found a common denominator, which is grief.
“I wrote my book to explain the mental and emotional aspects of grief so that readers can understand why they are so impacted, and with understanding, be able to give themselves a bit of grace for getting through it,” continued Baker. “My book is directed not only at the person diagnosed with cancer and their loved ones, but also at the medical community to highlight the importance of mental and emotional support concurrent with treatment.”
Baker is a graduate of Arkansas Tech. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from ATU in 2003.
The foreword for the book was written by Dr. Sam Makhoul, medical director for clinical research at the CARTI Cancer Center in Little Rock.
Contact Luke Heffley, special projects coordinator for Pendergraft Library, at (479) 964-0546 or lheffley@atu.edu for more information about the RPL Author Series.
