FEATURED: New Outlook – More Than a Name
This story was originally published in the Summer 2018 issue of OneSpirit Magazine. Read the full magazine.
Alesa Garner had never planned to face cancer, much less be the head of a cancer support program for nearly 20 years. When she first came to CHI St. Vincent, she worked as a clinical microbiologist in the lab. She’s from a family firmly rooted in two places: first in Arkansas and second at CHI St. Vincent. Both her mom and sister had long careers here, and she laughs that her dad would come eat BBQ on Thursdays, but that’s as far as he would go. The direction of her life shifted when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I am the poster child for the phrase, ‘mammography saves your life,’” says Alesa. “My breast cancer was caught very early, I was the first one in my family to be diagnosed with it, and I’m not a genetic carrier. At 42 years old, I decided to have a double mastectomy and reconstruction. It was a personal decision that I felt was the best for me.”
At the urging of her coworkers, Alesa began attending a support group with New Outlook Cancer Program where she met other cancer survivors and began to form relationships. The director of the program was planning to retire and thought Alesa would be a perfect fit. She said ‘yes’ without hesitation. “Taking on this responsibility was something I never planned for or intended to do, but my background in microbiology helped me understand the cancer disease process and all that goes along with diagnosis and treatment,” says Alesa.
In the years since, Alesa has earned an associate degree in clinical ethics, has pursued end-of-life training and has become a certified breast cancer navigator to lend credibility to the work she’s already doing. She points out that the work of New Outlook is not clinical, but a supportive care and service program that helps people deal with the side effects of cancer. “I don’t provide treatments or make recommendations. I’m here to help people handle the physical, emotional and mental effects of their cancer and lead them to the best resources to meet their needs,” says Alesa.
Decades of providing new looks & hope
New Outlook is one of the oldest and most comprehensive cancer support programs in the state of Arkansas. It supports people through all the various ways cancer can challenge a person – in their emotional and physical stamina, financial and employment security, relationships and self-image. Staffed by trained professionals and volunteers, New Outlook offers wig and hair styling, makeup consultations, support groups for cancer survivors and their families, information and referral services, financial assistance for women who qualify for breast prosthesis and mastectomy bras, and private, professional counseling.
Alesa has flourished in her role as program coordinator, setting up and facilitating support groups, keeping a state-wide list of groups, performing community education and outreach, helping low income breast cancer survivors find prosthesis and appropriate bras, actively working to form the Arkansas Ovarian Cancer Coalition and serving on the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation board. She is the only full-time employee, and the program runs through the help of volunteers, many who are cancer survivors themselves.
“I would have laughed if you told me 20 years ago that this is what I would be doing forever. But I’m a person of faith, and I believe that I have a purpose every day or I wouldn’t be alive. Anyone I come in contact with – coworkers, clients, family or friends – there’s a reason for me being able to touch them. I tell people all the time that this is my ministry. Everything I do is divinely provided, and I’m happiest when I’m working inside the parameters that God created for me.”