The aftermath of a cancer diagnosis can be a web of grief, fear, confusion and financial worry. Add the trouble of living on an island far from major hospitals and the web becomes more tangled.

That’s when Mercy Flight pilots can ease the burden.

The Mercy Flight program, which started about 10 years ago, makes around 60 flights a year for islanders undergoing cancer treatments or who have an injury that is not life threatening. The pilots donate their time, but the Mercy Flight program, administered through the Orcas Aviation Association, reimburses them for their fuel.

A handful of local pilots participate and often make numerous trips throughout the year. Some volunteers fly up to twice a week. About 95 percent of the patients on Mercy Flights are dealing with radiation treatment, so they have to be at the hospital five days a week.

Once on the mainland, patients can use a courtesy car at the airport to get to appointments. Pilots often go the extra mile and drive passengers to the hospital and then sit in the waiting room.

Pilot Dwight Guss said many of the patients he has transported throughout the years have become like family. And seeing those people struggle with cancer, makes the “donation” of piloting the flight seem small in comparison.

“Anybody who was with people who are facing a life-threatening disease are not thinking about themselves,” Guss said.

For Guss, flying is all about helping the community.

“I’m a people person, I’m also a volunteer firefighter and paramedic,” he said. “I mainly do it because I am enjoy it.”

The Sounder thanks the sponsors for this week’s cancer awareness section – 10 percent of the proceeds will go toward the local mercy flights for cancer patients.