Medical after cancer

Chas,
I will not make any comments on your particular situation, the medical folks
have those answers.

But almost 9 years ago I started a fight with a particularly mean type of
cancer. After chemo, surgery, radiation and a metal implant to save my
femur from breaking at a later date, my orthopedic oncologist wrote a letter
to the FAA saying he could see no reason to keep me from flying. (this was
about 6 months after chemo/ 4 months after surgery/ 3 months after chemo/ 1
month after the metal implant). I ride a bicycle also, and my doc was
particularly adamant about the metal implant.

The right chemo was picked, my doc was fabulous with his knife, and the
radiation polished off the rest of the critters. Lots of CTs, MRIs, bone
scans etc. made the record stack way over max gross weight.

All medical records went to the FAA along with the doc's recommendation. In
a very short time....something like 6 weeks after my AME visit, I had a
"special issuance" 3rd class medical under FAR 67.401 signed by the FAA head
doc from OKC. It was only good for a short time (~5 months), but at the end
of that time, after the FAA saw I was getting checked every 3 months by my
doc, they issued a full year 3rd class medical.

I have to admit, dealing with the OKC FAA office was a breeze. I just had
to get all the paperwork and my oncologist doc's set of letters to the FAA.
After several special issuances from OKC, they came back with a letter
authorizing my normal AME to grant me another year extension after passing
the normal 3rd class physical. Sometimes my AME could hand me the paper,
sometimes it came from OKC, but in the past 8.5 years I was without a valid
3rd class for only a few days (usually because I did not get my act together
early enough and send in the required documentation to OKC about 2 months
before my medical expired). Of course, during initial diagnosis, chemo,
surgery and radiation my medical was invalid. But once my local docs wrote
the magic words, the FAA did its job. I'm still very impressed and
satisfied how the FAA handled my case. Yes, I believe the AOPA can help,
but I just called OKC and got all the details myself. They were very
accessible.

After 5 years, I got another letter from the FAA saying I was now eligible
for a standard two year medical and did not need a special issuance under
67.401. Last 2 medicals were standard, and I just keep giving them the
normal list of medical practitioner contacts like you have been doing at
your previous physicals.

If you desire, you may email me privately (removing the ".cutout" will get
you my valid address).

I wish you the best in your fight. I know that everyone here will be
pulling for you. You are among LOTS of friends.

Best Regards,
John Severyn

"Chas" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for the cite. I hadn't gone to the FAR's yet. At first read it
appears that a) I'm grounded from my SEL activities and b) my pursuit of a
glider rating this spring may also be on hold although the wording in
61.53b is a lawyers delight.

Definitive thing is get cured and that is of course my focus.
Consideration of FAA view is however a welcome distraction.

Kev writes:

In short, the discipline required to make it through training. It
takes finding money, working hard, spending actual sweat, even
overcoming primal fear at times. Book learning, class learning, new
coordination skills, juggling work, getting through disappointing
lapses, trying again anyway.

All of these can be provided by motivation and ambition; maturity is not
necessarily required. Indeed, a single-minded pursuit of a goal might well be
considered a sign of immaturity, if it leads to an unbalanced lifestyle.

It does not mean that all pilots are more mature, of course. There
are plenty of examples of the opposite around here daily. Certainly
Chuck Yeager wouldn't respond in the childish way many of them
do ;-) But this is the net, and I don't think we the outspoken are
really representative of the majority in the world... who are just
plain solid people with good judgement.

I think a lot of people here claim to be what they are not.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

You can fly all the dual you want and can afford. Any
private or commercial pilot can be your PIC, it doesn't have
to be a CFI [check with insurance company].


"Chas" wrote in message
. ..
| Thanks for the cite. I hadn't gone to the FAR's yet. At
first read it
| appears that a) I'm grounded from my SEL activities and b)
my pursuit of a
| glider rating this spring may also be on hold although the
wording in 61.53b
| is a lawyers delight.
|
| Definitive thing is get cured and that is of course my
focus. Consideration
| of FAA view is however a welcome distraction.
|
| "Jim Macklin" wrote
in message
| ...
| Your current medical is invalid until your treating
doctor
| fully releases you and you are not on any medication the
FAA
| finds disqualifying.
| Home Page Executive Branch Code of Federal
Regulations
| Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
|
| Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR)
| e-CFR Data is current as of February 22, 2007
|
|
|
|
| Title 14: Aeronautics and Space
| PART 61-CERTIFICATION: PILOTS, FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS, AND
| GROUND INSTRUCTORS
| Subpart A-General
|
|
| Browse Previous | Browse Next
|
|
| § 61.53 Prohibition on operations during medical
| deficiency.
| (a) Operations that require a medical certificate.
Except as
| provided for in paragraph (b) of this section, a person
who
| holds a current medical certificate issued under part 67
of
| this chapter shall not act as pilot in command, or in
any
| other capacity as a required pilot flight crewmember,
while
| that person:
|
| (1) Knows or has reason to know of any medical condition
| that would make the person unable to meet the
requirements
| for the medical certificate necessary for the pilot
| operation; or
|
| (2) Is taking medication or receiving other treatment
for a
| medical condition that results in the person being
unable to
| meet the requirements for the medical certificate
necessary
| for the pilot operation.
|
| (b) Operations that do not require a medical
certificate.
| For operations provided for in §61.23(b) of this part, a
| person shall not act as pilot in command, or in any
other
| capacity as a required pilot flight crewmember, while
that
| person knows or has reason to know of any medical
condition
| that would make the person unable to operate the
aircraft in
| a safe manner.
|
| (c) Operations requiring a medical certificate or a U.S.
| driver's license. For operations provided for in
§61.23(c),
| a person must meet the provisions of-
|
| (1) Paragraph (a) of this section if that person holds a
| valid medical certificate issued under part 67 of this
| chapter and does not hold a current and valid U.S.
driver's
| license.
|
| (2) Paragraph (b) of this section if that person holds a
| current and valid U.S. driver's license.
|
| [Doc. No. 25910, 62 FR 16298, Apr. 4, 1997, as amended
by
| Amdt. 61-110, 69 FR 44866, July 27, 2004]
|
| "Chas" wrote in message
| . ..
| | Just diagnosed with stage I breast cancer, mastectomy
next
| week. Anticipate
| | some degree of chemical warfare post operation. Doc
says
| it may cause hot
| | flashes, wife says welcome to her world.
| |
| | Current medical runs for another 14 months. I will be
| talking to the AOPA
| | folks but was curious if anyone had comparable
experience
| and could give me
| | view as to hoops, traps, etc that I might anticipate.
| |
| | thx
| |
| | chuck
| |
| |
|
|
|
|

In article m,
"Kev" wrote:

On Feb 26, 11:09 pm, "Viperdoc" wrote:
Why should I, as an experienced physician, flight surgeon, and AME not
respond when MXS makes medical prouncounemts that are ungrounded in
fact or logic (like many of his other posts)?

You absolutely should respond with corrections.

Except for Trolls. No one should respond to a troll.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

and Kev seems to hae some sort of strange "need" to respond to him. He
is one of a few that are keep MXIdiot coming back. Unbelieveable, but
that is what this NG has degenerated to.

Kev's BS snip
The FAA view is that if you have a known cancer, then you could also
have unseen brain / nervous system damage. If it was non-metastatic,
I believe they want a year to go by after cure. Otherwise could be
five years or more or never.
end of BS snip

You should do some research before you post such BS. Ask Cecil Chapman
how long it was before he got back in the cockpit after breast cancer.



Except for Trolls. No one should respond to a troll.

On Feb 27, 7:04 am, Jon Kraus wrote:
The FAA view is that if you have a known cancer, then you could also
have unseen brain / nervous system damage. If it was non-metastatic,
I believe they want a year to go by after cure.

You should do some research before you post such BS.

Well, since I had my esophagus removed due to cancer, yes I've done
research.

Please read the FAA Policy on Cancer section in this flight surgeon's
website:

http://www.aviationmedicine.com/arti...7&contentID=67

Ask Cecil Chapman
how long it was before he got back in the cockpit after breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a special case. However, I'm wrong about the non-
metastatic timeline, which is great.

Kev

Great post. I think that was what he was looking for.
"J. Severyn" wrote in message
. ..
Chas,
I will not make any comments on your particular situation, the medical
folks have those answers.

But almost 9 years ago I started a fight with a particularly mean type of
cancer. After chemo, surgery, radiation and a metal implant to save my
femur from breaking at a later date, my orthopedic oncologist wrote a
letter to the FAA saying he could see no reason to keep me from flying.
(this was about 6 months after chemo/ 4 months after surgery/ 3 months
after chemo/ 1 month after the metal implant). I ride a bicycle also, and
my doc was particularly adamant about the metal implant.

The right chemo was picked, my doc was fabulous with his knife, and the
radiation polished off the rest of the critters. Lots of CTs, MRIs, bone
scans etc. made the record stack way over max gross weight.

All medical records went to the FAA along with the doc's recommendation.
In a very short time....something like 6 weeks after my AME visit, I had a
"special issuance" 3rd class medical under FAR 67.401 signed by the FAA
head doc from OKC. It was only good for a short time (~5 months), but at
the end of that time, after the FAA saw I was getting checked every 3
months by my doc, they issued a full year 3rd class medical.

I have to admit, dealing with the OKC FAA office was a breeze. I just had
to get all the paperwork and my oncologist doc's set of letters to the
FAA. After several special issuances from OKC, they came back with a
letter authorizing my normal AME to grant me another year extension after
passing the normal 3rd class physical. Sometimes my AME could hand me the
paper, sometimes it came from OKC, but in the past 8.5 years I was without
a valid 3rd class for only a few days (usually because I did not get my
act together early enough and send in the required documentation to OKC
about 2 months before my medical expired). Of course, during initial
diagnosis, chemo, surgery and radiation my medical was invalid. But once
my local docs wrote the magic words, the FAA did its job. I'm still very
impressed and satisfied how the FAA handled my case. Yes, I believe the
AOPA can help, but I just called OKC and got all the details myself. They
were very accessible.

After 5 years, I got another letter from the FAA saying I was now eligible
for a standard two year medical and did not need a special issuance under
67.401. Last 2 medicals were standard, and I just keep giving them the
normal list of medical practitioner contacts like you have been doing at
your previous physicals.

If you desire, you may email me privately (removing the ".cutout" will get
you my valid address).

I wish you the best in your fight. I know that everyone here will be
pulling for you. You are among LOTS of friends.

Best Regards,
John Severyn

"Chas" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for the cite. I hadn't gone to the FAR's yet. At first read it
appears that a) I'm grounded from my SEL activities and b) my pursuit of
a glider rating this spring may also be on hold although the wording in
61.53b is a lawyers delight.

Definitive thing is get cured and that is of course my focus.
Consideration of FAA view is however a welcome distraction.

"Chas" wrote in
:

Just diagnosed with stage I breast cancer, mastectomy next week.
Anticipate some degree of chemical warfare post operation. Doc says
it may cause hot flashes, wife says welcome to her world.

Ouch...

Current medical runs for another 14 months. I will be talking to the
AOPA folks but was curious if anyone had comparable experience and
could give me view as to hoops, traps, etc that I might anticipate.

Yeah, pretty similar. About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with colon
cancer. I had about 18 months left on the medical. Treatment was
surgery, followed by 13 months of chemo. [No, it was NOT the best year
of my life. G]

I talked off the record with a fairly high up FAA medical certification
person, as well as with a nationally known certification expert and AME.
Their suggestion: Use my best judgement.

We all "self certify" every day we fly. We could walk out of the AME's
office with a brand new medical, trip on the stairs and break a leg, and
be unfit to fly.

What I was told was that, in and of itself, cancer treatment is not
disqualifying. Being unfit to fly *is*. So the answer was to use good
judgement and fly when it was safe, and not when it was not.

What did I do:

o Get a letter from your doctor. The key phrase in the letter is that
you are "no more likely to experience sudden incapacitation than the
general population." You can dictate it to the doctor, or get a
suggested letter from the AOPA, but it needs those words in it.

o My chemo was mild, at least by comparison to what some folks were
going through. Some days I felt fine, and I flew. Some days I just
plain didn't feel like it.

o Further, my stamina was not what it otherwise would have been. That
meant no return flights at two o'clock in the morning after a long day
of meetings. And it meant more good VFR and less hard IFR to minimums
at the end of a five hour flight. [I carry up to seven hours fuel in
the tanks.]

By the end of the medical, I was off the chemo. I took the above
letter, plus another from my doctor, to the local AME and got my medical
renewed. Had to list the cancer on the form, of course, but it was all
a "done deal."

About three months later, as expected, I got the letter from the FAA
saying they were reviewing my medical and that I would have to turn it
in if they decided I was not fit. Now, this is key: They did NOT
revoke it - just review it. So I had a valid medical until they said
otherwise. [Which is really bizzarre if you think about it. I'm
recovering and fit to fly, but might not be later if they decide I
haven't recovered enough? G]

At their request I sent them FOURTEEN POUNDS of documents. Every X-ray,
CAT scan, MRI, etc. They insisted, and they will for you too. Start
collecting copies now if you want to avoid the rush later.

Another six months went by, and I get a letter saying I can keep my
medical.

All told, it boiled down to not flying when I wasn't comfortable with my
level of safety (common sense), plus the postage for a 14 pound FEDEX
box. I was able to fly as much as I felt fit to do so, the whole time.

Above all, be safe. Don't lie about anything on any application. But
there is no need for you to volunteer anything either. Make sure you
know how any follow up treatments are going to effect you. Then go
enjoy your life.

jmk


-----------------------------------------------
James M. Knox
TriSoft ph 512-385-0316
1300 Koenig Lane West fax 512-371-5716
Suite 200
Austin, Tx 78756
-----------------------------------------------

On Feb 27, 1:11 am, "J. Severyn" wrote:
Chas,
I will not make any comments on your particular situation, the medical folks
have those answers.

But almost 9 years ago I started a fight with a particularly mean type of
cancer. After chemo, surgery, radiation and a metal implant to save my
femur from breaking at a later date, my orthopedic oncologist wrote a letter
to the FAA saying he could see no reason to keep me from flying. (this was
about 6 months after chemo/ 4 months after surgery/ 3 months after chemo/ 1
month after the metal implant).

John (and Jim) thanks for your detailed experiences. John, can I ask
what type of cancer? One thing that seems important to the FAA is
the type, and whether it's spread or not.

Here's a short example list for AOPA members:

http://www.aopa.org/members/pic/medi...cation/cancer/

It claims, for example, that with colon cancer it might only take six
months, whereas with some lung cancers, it could take five years.

Stay indication free!
Regards, Kev

"Jim Macklin" wrote in
:

Your current medical is invalid until your treating doctor
fully releases you and you are not on any medication the FAA
finds disqualifying.

(1) Knows or has reason to know of any medical condition
that would make the person unable to meet the requirements
for the medical certificate necessary for the pilot
operation; or

(2) Is taking medication or receiving other treatment for a
medical condition that results in the person being unable to
meet the requirements for the medical certificate necessary
for the pilot operation.

I don't think what you say is complete or correct. The above FAA quotes
are certainly true, but do not necessarily imply that you doctor must
"fully release you." Heck, by that logic anyone on any ongoing
treatment (for example, on a sustaining blood pressure medication
program) would not be allowed to fly.

What *is* required is just what the FAA says:

o Not on any disqualifying medications.

o Has reason to know of any condition that would make them unable to
meet the requirements for a medical. [I.e. unsafe to fly.]

And let me stress, I would NOT suggest anyone do otherwise. None of us
want a pilot (whether we are on the plane or not) passing out or having
seizures. But that leaves a LOT of area where the person is a perfectly
safe pilot, is taking medications that are not disapproved, and has no
reason to believe they have any condition which would render them unable
to safely complete the anticipated flight.

-----------------------------------------------
James M. Knox
TriSoft ph 512-385-0316
1300 Koenig Lane West fax 512-371-5716
Suite 200
Austin, Tx 78756
-----------------------------------------------