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Prostate Cancer & Your Flying Future

AOPA

...and remember. This was a service that AOPA used to provide free as part of your membership. Now they have decided to make it a source of income and apparently their expertise has suffered because of it. Go figure. Glad about your flying Vic...ever "gladder" that you have recovered nicely. In our lifetime, that was once considered a death sentence...we are all very fortunate to have the "second chance" that you did. Congratulations....to both of you.
 
While we are on the subject of checking where the sun doesn't shine don't forget to get a colonoscopy! I kept putting mine off making excuses, yad,yad,yad. Until a good flying buddy of mine basically had one done after his flight DR. said he would not pass him unless he got one. Never in his wildest dreams did he suspect any problems, but they found cancer! He is recovering now having gone through chemo and radiation ect. His prognosis is excellent because they caught it so early! His ME SAVED HIS LIFE!

If you are over 50 Get R Dun! That is an order. Make no excuses, just do it! When I had mine they found $200 in gold! :eek: (kidding) Who knows what they will find in you! ;)

The piece of mind is priceless. Cancer is nothing to screw around with, catch it early and live to fly another day, catch it late and die a horrible death. The choice is yours. You would not go 500 on an oil change, why would you treat your body any different that your airplane? No excuses, just do it.

Oh yea, make sure the women in your life get a digital mamogram EVERY YEAR over 40 (or what ever your DR recommends). My wife religously has hers done and complains about it every year, but bless her heart she still does it, and thank god she did! Well, you guessed it, last November they found breat cancer! Zero family history of cancer! She is cancer free now only becuase we caught it EARLY! Don't wait until you feel a lump, by then it can be too late. Get her to have a DIGITAL mamogram ASAP.

Now the only problem is she makes me go on these "Cancer Walk For Life" things and were pink shirts. I don't look good in pink, but I do it and smile. :cool:

Sorry for the long rambling post, cancer is nothing to screw with. Take good care of yourself and your family by setting a good example.
 
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statistics don't lie...much

If it's true that 1 in 3 will get some kind of cancer, then you'd better have a plan!...unless you live by yourself on a desert island.
If your dad had it, then the odds go up. If you eat, drink, or be merry like the typical N. american, your odds just went up again.

the silver lining? Options. If you survive,
To get your medical back, and/or.......
we'll all be joining you in a big formation of RV-12's! :)
 
Okay, time to chime in but I'll make it short. About a year ago I had a digital prostate exam. My general practitioner doctor used two fingers (he needed a second opinion) and felt a small lump. Otherwise all seemed good. My wife, who is an oncology nurse, and sees the young and old suffer with cancer on a daily basis stayed on me until I went for a thorough exam with a urologist. He too felt the lump and suggested a biopsy, just to be safe. Results: PSA at 0.5 (that's right!) with 10% cancer and a Gleason score of 6. And it wasn't the lump that was cancerous. It was on the other side of the gland. My wife and doctor were shocked. My AME was even more surprised as this revelation came to light at the same time I was renewing my 3rd class medical. My whole feeling about 'cancer' changed in an instant because now I have it. It was no longer something other people get. Emotions you can't even begin to imagine erupt when your life changes in an instant. Uncertainty rules your consciousness and the education begins.
I decided to have the DaVinci Robotic Prostatectomy. One night in the hospital and I was home. Back to work within ten days but took a few weeks to start feeling like myself again. It's been five months and the "usual" side effects are subsiding nicely. Last PSA test: 0.0. That's good.
Now to the flying part. Because the discovery occurred during my renewal, I was automatically DQ'd from 3rd class recertification. This was very upsetting because being the East Coast Rep for Van's Aircraft, I need to fly! They need me to fly. This all occurred last spring, right at the beginning of the flyin season.
Now picture this: I am an employee of Van's Aircraft. They have given me an RV-12 and RV-10 to use as factory demonstrators to promote sales. This is no small investment they've made in me and here I can't fulfill my responsibilities. This was not a phone call I wanted to make. But they needed to know. My first call was to Scott Risan, President of Van's. He response was immediate and unwavering: My health was of primary concern and that was all that mattered. He said and I quote, "The airplanes and the flyins will be there when you're well again. Do not worry about a thing on this end. Just get well." Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the company expressed the same sentiment and support. Now I've been around the folks at Van's Aircraft for a number of years and I can't say I was surprised, but to say I was greatly appreciative of the response and support I received would be the biggest understatement of my life.
Do I have to say it? This is loyalty of the first order. Pure and simple.
End result with the FAA: I have a Special Issuance for my 3rd class medical. I only need to have exams on the normal two year schedule but I have to have my urologist annually submit documents stating that no adverse conditions have arisen from the cancer or its treatment. This will last for six years. I was without my medical for a total of ninety days.
My blessings in this saga are many. First, I have my wife who loves me enough to stay on me and ignore my whining. Second, that God listened to the prayers of my friends and family to guide the surgeon's hand so I would recover, live my life as I had before and fly again. And third, that Van's Aircraft is about people first and about airplanes second.
 
Glad it worked out for you, too, Mitch. It's clear to me that the PSA is just one piece of the total indication. Some types of the cancer seem to come with low PSA's, no lumps, and no symptoms, but they are just as insidious.
Hopefully, you will now continue to have many years of flying left.

Vic
 
Medical

Mitch,
Glad of course that you are over your "surprise". You deserve it...you are part of the Van's family you are so appreciative of ya know. By the way, for interest sake, during your 3rd class DQ was there any talk of flying the 12 under sport pilot privileges? I realize you need to fly the RV10 as well and needed your medical back but did you or Van's consider it during your time away?
 
Actually Erich, you are absolutely correct. Denial of the 3rd class DQs light sport as well. I consulted the AOPA legal department and it was their opinion (based upon many who have come before with the same issue) that since I hadn't applied for the 3rd class renewal and that prostate cancer is not one of the debilitating conditions outlined by the FAA for light sport disqualification and that I had no other known debilitating condition, that I still qualified to fly light sport. So I did, but not until after my surgery had been performed and I felt physically and mentally fit to fly, which was more than a few weeks after the operation. And during the time that I flew solely light sport, which was less than a month, I only flew the 12 to and from venues. I left the demo rides to our east coast pilots with a valid medical.

I did not apply for my 3rd class until I had completed all of the scans, tests, etc. recommended by my AME after my surgery and I was fairly certain that I would pass. Which I did.

Those were the stated rules, so I followed them. It's much easier that way.
 
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