Piloting a cause
Seattle captain moves male breast cancer onto the radar
October 23, 2006
By Marianne Lindsey
E.J. Wilson doesn’t look like a breast cancer survivor. Fit, happy and at ease, the long-time Alaska Airlines pilot is ever the picture of vibrancy. He’s also a man.
“It’s a bit lonely out there,” said Wilson, who beat cancer five years ago. “I was blazing a new trail and didn’t have anyone to talk to or information about my disease. It was scary.”
Today, the 737 captain describes his fight against breast cancer and quest to educate others as “the most positive experience of my life.”
Strong words for a man who underwent a mastectomy to remove his tumor, faced 12 weeks of chemotherapy and drug therapy, and spent months in recovery. Then he had to re-qualify for his job on the flight deck.
Throughout it all, Alaska Airlines employees were at his side.
“The company was great to me,” Wilson said. “I had so much support internally and from co-workers, especially from flight attendants. Many of them were breast cancer survivors themselves.”
Wilson recalls an emotional flight, not long after returning to work, when he and all three flight attendants onboard shared their stories of cancer.
“It touches everyone,” he said. “There are so many employees with cancer in their lives, either themselves, a family member or co-worker. It’s a force impacting nearly every person’s life.”
Earlier this month, Wilson spent his free time manning a booth at the Virginia Mason Seasons of Life Health Fair in Seattle, handing out brochures and talking about his disease with nearly 800 participants who attended. In December, he’ll do the same at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Health Fair. The largest event of its type in the world, Wilson said it’s a chance for him to meet the “Top Guns” in the field of breast cancer research.
 |
| Cancer survivor Capt. E.J. Wilson has
reached out to educate men about breast cancer. |
“Ever since this happened to me, I want to be up on the latest techniques and research for a cure. Once you’ve had cancer, it’s a part of your life that you never get rid of.”
Wilson is also motivated to help other men, who, as he was, are in disbelief about contracting a disease generally considered to afflict only women. Breast cancer strikes one in eight women in America, but it’s a rare occurrence for men —accounting for just 1 percent of all cases.
When Wilson searched for information, he found a friend in actor Richard Roundtree. The rugged star of the 1971 film hit, “Shaft,” Roundtree was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. He was one of the first men to share his story and highlight the fact that men can, indeed, contract breast cancer.
Roundtree called Wilson not long after the pilot was diagnosed. “It was pretty emotional. He cried with me on the phone.”
Wilson also began to follow the work of Nancy Nick, from Sebastian, Fla., who created the John W. Nick Foundation in honor of her father. John Nick died of breast cancer in 1991 after doctors missed the warning signs. At that time, her father was told, “men don’t get breast cancer.”
Wilson is a member of the board of directors for the John W. Nick Foundation, which sponsors his work at the symposiums. He hopes to create a central registry where men with breast cancer can contact each other for support.
He’s also reaching out to other male pilots through the Air Line Pilots Association. Wilson said he only knows of one other pilot who has the disease, a retiree for Delta Air Lines living in Dallas.
“I didn’t want to get involved in all this, but I don’t have a choice,” he said.
Like all cancer victims, Wilson didn’t choose the disease. It chose him.
|
