U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly's bill to study cancer rates among military aviators is headed to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Passed this week by Congress, the Aviator Cancer Examination Study Act addresses cancer rates among Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps aircrew members.
Speaking as a former Navy combat pilot, Kelly, D-Arizona, said there are “certain risks that we know and accept” with military service, but the nation knows little about the health risks affecting aviators and crew members later in life.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, co-sponsored the ACES Act. A combat veteran and fellow Armed Services Committee member, Cotton said the nation owes it to aviators to research cancer rates among this group.
The Center Square reached out to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for information on cancer rates among aviators and did not receive a response. However, Kelly's press release said “pilots and aircrews have been found to face higher risks of developing prostate cancer and melanoma, with potential links to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and testicular cancer.” As a result, the ACES Act directs the secretary of Veterans Affairs to study cancer incidence and mortality rates among aviators and aircrew who served in the Armed Forces.
