WindOnHisNose
BENEFACTOR
Lino Lakes MN (MY18)
Taken, by permission, from Medical Matters:
Two weeks ago I had an airman call who had a biopsy of what appeared to be a parotid tumor on the left side of his face. He underwent a surgical exploration of the mass one week ago it was malignant, and a bad cancer, at that. From an FAA standpoint, he must surrender his medical certificate immediately and he is grounded. He will need to reapply for a medical certificate in the future, after he has undergone treatment and survived the disease, should he survive the disease. A review of the stage of his cancer and outcomes reveals that he has a five year survival rate of between 30 and 70%, if he is adequately treated. He was told he should have an appointment with a radiation oncologist to see what, if any, treatment he should have.
He should immediately notify the FAA and either send in his medical certificate or await a letter from them denying him medical certification. When he completes his surgical/chemotherapy/radiation therapy treatment he can present for a medical examination and apply for a medical certificate, which will likely be a time-limited certificate.
From the FAA medical certification standpoint, that is where this airman sits.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The rest of the story…
From a personal and professional standpoint, things are not so black and white.
He is a young man and has devoted his life to aviation, both professionally and personally. He has won multiple prestigious awards for his aviation accomplishments. He is married, has several children and even a grandchild. He is a very religious man.
I crossed paths with him pretty much by accident, but I have heard of him several times in the past. He called me because of my work with the MN Pilots Association and a project we are working on…having nothing to do with medicine. He knew I am an AME and he asked if he could speak to me off the record. I said sure and, as always, it doesn’t take much of an excuse for me to go flying.
I had never met this fellow in person until yesterday when I flew over to spend some time with him. I taxied up to the FBO and a handsome fellow came out to greet me, and he had a great smile and a firm handshake (I always appreciate a firm handshake), but his eyes were pretty watery. He gave me a bearhug and asked me to go into the hangar to visit.
I know I joke with you all about being OK Mike's gynecologist, etc., but I am very clear in pointing out to those of you who email me or pm me or call me with a medical problem that many of these medical problems are outside of my area of expertise. I pledge to research this out and at least help you understand what is going on, what questions to ask, to help interpret the medical jargon so that you can make good decisions with regard to those questions which need be answered. With this in mind I began my answers to his questions by offering the same disclaimer I give to new patients…, and he nodded his understanding of these: 1. if I disagree with what you have been told by your previous physicians it doesn't always mean I think they are wrong; and 2. I am not much of a bullshitter...if things look bad I will let them know.
I pointed out tumors of the head and neck lie about 3 feet away from turf upon which I am comfortable and he said he would take any help he might get from me to understand the problems he faces. We discussed what a cancer is, how these cells are multiplying out of control, how radiation treatment works, how chemotherapy works. I reassured him that I would help him figure out if the little hospital he has worked through was the best place for his care, or if he should go to a major center for his treatment. I can check out the docs who may be involved in his care and make sure they have a good reputation (the worn out joke: what do you call the person who finishes last in his medical school class? Doctor).
He is devastated with the news that he has a cancer and he is facing uncertainty with many aspects of his life, not only his flying career but also the life and death implications of the disease. He is the strong one in his family, was raised on a Midwestern farm, has a great wife and children and grandchildren. He told me that he is feeling like he is waking up after a very bad dream, wondering if this really is happening to him, since he feels great. He wanted to know if the diagnosis is really correct, who can he trust and who should he not trust. He wants to know when he can fly again, how long after finishing the treatment might he be able to get his medical back.
He does not want to worry anyone and as a result he is being very careful with whom he will share this news. He has shared the information with his wife, but is really not wanting to alarm her with what this might mean for his flying career. He doesn’t want to worry his children as he knows he is the person that they look at as being pretty indestructible.
He showed my his airplanes, the one he calls “my office” and he looked me square in the eye and asked “do you think I will be able to fly this again?” He told me that he never has looked at the cockpit without looking forward to the next time he could crawl into that space, and that this is a really difficult thing for him to fathom…never flying that single-seat aircraft again.
I sat down with him as we drank a couple of cups of coffee and my advice to him is to just stop running, slow things down and “fly the airplane”…in this case, taking care of himself medically and to make good, informed decisions with regard to his medical care. I can help him with that. I suggest that he sit down with his family and keep them informed. It has been my experience that loved ones and those with whom we work daily can tell from a mile away when something is amiss. Being in the dark only leads to further speculation, and this can be a major destructive thing for all who are involved. He is going to need to tell his team members what he is facing so that they, too, can cope with the situation and figure out how best to support him.
He is going to need to focus on the most important things right now, his health and his family. It is time to circle the wagons and hunker down for what lies ahead, but he said he needs someone he can trust to be objective and asked me to be that person for him. “Heck yes” was my response.
I am sharing this with you only to point out that you or someone you are close to in the flying community may be faced with a similar situation. You may not be a doc and be able to get information that your friend needs, but you can be there to listen to that person, share a sigh or tear or two, to be present for them. This is not to say that the person does not trust or wish to share their feelings with their wife or husband or family or significant others, but pilots and aviators have a special bond, I feel. While it is not the same kind of bond that Tom Constantine and his Marine’s have, it is a special bond nonetheless.
It is one of the greatest blessings of this website that I feel I have several people here who I can call on to be my advocate if/when the time comes that I will need one. When I am reading other threads here and see people whining about what they feel is unfair on this website, or when I read that some want this site to return to being an “airplane only” website, I can tell you that I shake my head in disagreement and thank my lucky stars that I am able to write this so that you will understand why it is important to take my phone call, or answer my email, if I really need to talk to you. This pilot could easily be me, were it not for the Grace of God, or for the Great Spirit, or however you look at it.
Thanks for being Supercub.org supporters and for all of you who post and share your thoughts.
Randy
Two weeks ago I had an airman call who had a biopsy of what appeared to be a parotid tumor on the left side of his face. He underwent a surgical exploration of the mass one week ago it was malignant, and a bad cancer, at that. From an FAA standpoint, he must surrender his medical certificate immediately and he is grounded. He will need to reapply for a medical certificate in the future, after he has undergone treatment and survived the disease, should he survive the disease. A review of the stage of his cancer and outcomes reveals that he has a five year survival rate of between 30 and 70%, if he is adequately treated. He was told he should have an appointment with a radiation oncologist to see what, if any, treatment he should have.
He should immediately notify the FAA and either send in his medical certificate or await a letter from them denying him medical certification. When he completes his surgical/chemotherapy/radiation therapy treatment he can present for a medical examination and apply for a medical certificate, which will likely be a time-limited certificate.
From the FAA medical certification standpoint, that is where this airman sits.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The rest of the story…
From a personal and professional standpoint, things are not so black and white.
He is a young man and has devoted his life to aviation, both professionally and personally. He has won multiple prestigious awards for his aviation accomplishments. He is married, has several children and even a grandchild. He is a very religious man.
I crossed paths with him pretty much by accident, but I have heard of him several times in the past. He called me because of my work with the MN Pilots Association and a project we are working on…having nothing to do with medicine. He knew I am an AME and he asked if he could speak to me off the record. I said sure and, as always, it doesn’t take much of an excuse for me to go flying.
I had never met this fellow in person until yesterday when I flew over to spend some time with him. I taxied up to the FBO and a handsome fellow came out to greet me, and he had a great smile and a firm handshake (I always appreciate a firm handshake), but his eyes were pretty watery. He gave me a bearhug and asked me to go into the hangar to visit.
I know I joke with you all about being OK Mike's gynecologist, etc., but I am very clear in pointing out to those of you who email me or pm me or call me with a medical problem that many of these medical problems are outside of my area of expertise. I pledge to research this out and at least help you understand what is going on, what questions to ask, to help interpret the medical jargon so that you can make good decisions with regard to those questions which need be answered. With this in mind I began my answers to his questions by offering the same disclaimer I give to new patients…, and he nodded his understanding of these: 1. if I disagree with what you have been told by your previous physicians it doesn't always mean I think they are wrong; and 2. I am not much of a bullshitter...if things look bad I will let them know.
I pointed out tumors of the head and neck lie about 3 feet away from turf upon which I am comfortable and he said he would take any help he might get from me to understand the problems he faces. We discussed what a cancer is, how these cells are multiplying out of control, how radiation treatment works, how chemotherapy works. I reassured him that I would help him figure out if the little hospital he has worked through was the best place for his care, or if he should go to a major center for his treatment. I can check out the docs who may be involved in his care and make sure they have a good reputation (the worn out joke: what do you call the person who finishes last in his medical school class? Doctor).
He is devastated with the news that he has a cancer and he is facing uncertainty with many aspects of his life, not only his flying career but also the life and death implications of the disease. He is the strong one in his family, was raised on a Midwestern farm, has a great wife and children and grandchildren. He told me that he is feeling like he is waking up after a very bad dream, wondering if this really is happening to him, since he feels great. He wanted to know if the diagnosis is really correct, who can he trust and who should he not trust. He wants to know when he can fly again, how long after finishing the treatment might he be able to get his medical back.
He does not want to worry anyone and as a result he is being very careful with whom he will share this news. He has shared the information with his wife, but is really not wanting to alarm her with what this might mean for his flying career. He doesn’t want to worry his children as he knows he is the person that they look at as being pretty indestructible.
He showed my his airplanes, the one he calls “my office” and he looked me square in the eye and asked “do you think I will be able to fly this again?” He told me that he never has looked at the cockpit without looking forward to the next time he could crawl into that space, and that this is a really difficult thing for him to fathom…never flying that single-seat aircraft again.
I sat down with him as we drank a couple of cups of coffee and my advice to him is to just stop running, slow things down and “fly the airplane”…in this case, taking care of himself medically and to make good, informed decisions with regard to his medical care. I can help him with that. I suggest that he sit down with his family and keep them informed. It has been my experience that loved ones and those with whom we work daily can tell from a mile away when something is amiss. Being in the dark only leads to further speculation, and this can be a major destructive thing for all who are involved. He is going to need to tell his team members what he is facing so that they, too, can cope with the situation and figure out how best to support him.
He is going to need to focus on the most important things right now, his health and his family. It is time to circle the wagons and hunker down for what lies ahead, but he said he needs someone he can trust to be objective and asked me to be that person for him. “Heck yes” was my response.
I am sharing this with you only to point out that you or someone you are close to in the flying community may be faced with a similar situation. You may not be a doc and be able to get information that your friend needs, but you can be there to listen to that person, share a sigh or tear or two, to be present for them. This is not to say that the person does not trust or wish to share their feelings with their wife or husband or family or significant others, but pilots and aviators have a special bond, I feel. While it is not the same kind of bond that Tom Constantine and his Marine’s have, it is a special bond nonetheless.
It is one of the greatest blessings of this website that I feel I have several people here who I can call on to be my advocate if/when the time comes that I will need one. When I am reading other threads here and see people whining about what they feel is unfair on this website, or when I read that some want this site to return to being an “airplane only” website, I can tell you that I shake my head in disagreement and thank my lucky stars that I am able to write this so that you will understand why it is important to take my phone call, or answer my email, if I really need to talk to you. This pilot could easily be me, were it not for the Grace of God, or for the Great Spirit, or however you look at it.
Thanks for being Supercub.org supporters and for all of you who post and share your thoughts.
Randy
