Yager Jumps Out Of Plane To Raise Awareness

Celebrating his diagnosis of being cancer-free, State Senator Ken Yager jumped out of a plane this week to raise awareness for prostate cancer screenings.

Yager said he jumped out of a plane 14,000 feet in the air as he made a commitment to himself two years ago when he was first diagnosed with prostate cancer that he would jump out of a plane if he beat cancer.

“I decided to keep that promise to make that jump,” Yager said. “But use it as an opportunity to draw attention to the fact that men need to have an annual prostate-specific antigen test done to determine if there is any prostate cancer in their system because prostate cancer is very curable if caught early.”

Yager said it is important to him to raise awareness now that he is a cancer survivor. Yager said, surprisingly enough for a guy who does not like to climb up on a ladder to clean his gutters, he would like to do it again.

“I didn’t have any problems with anxiety at all or nervousness,” Yager said. “I had a good support group. Some of my friends and colleagues came and joined me that day to see me off and it was a great experience.”

Yager said at 14,000 feet his legs were dangling from the plane and he could see the curvature of the Earth.

Yager said beating cancer was like being given a second chance.

“When the doctor told me that I was cancer-free, it is so hard to articulate,” Yager said. “I felt free again and I was so grateful to the doctors who worked with me and I was also grateful to god above for his providence. Then my thoughts turned to the future, I’ve been spared for a reason. That’s another reason why I made this jump in order to do something for somebody else.”

Yager said he is so thankful that his cancer diagnosis was caught in the early stages as it ultimately saved his life.