LAKELAND
Several years ago while stationed in Okinawa, Japan, former U.S. Air Force Maj. Brian Kissinger, along with the rest of his comrades, was given a hat made in Korea. Each person's first name was inscribed on the back of his own hat. On Kissinger's hat, instead of "Brian," the word "Brain" was stitched, and the nickname quickly caught on. "It was ironic," he said.

That's because in July 2003, Kissinger collapsed during a game of tennis. The culprit was a cancerous brain tumor the size of a baseball.

"I was scared to death," he said.

Kissinger underwent 20 months of chemotherapy for what he describes as a "not extremely aggressive" form of cancer.

Kissinger, who now works for General Electric, has run a marathon and is in superb physical condition.

He's building an airplane, a Zenith STOL CH 701, at the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, along with a group called Flight Crafters.

It should be finished by the end of the year, and Kissinger plans to fly it around America to raise money for brain tumor research.

Kissinger, 37, grew up in Brooksville and graduated from Hernando High School in 1986. He's married with three daughters and lives in O'Fallon, Ill., where a tornado hit Sunday. The storm missed his home.

He said he feels fortunate to have beaten back his cancer.

"I'm very lucky that the tumor I had was where they could reach it and that I responded to treatment," he said.

Kissinger said he was told by the Air Force that he would never fly or go overseas again. He said he was offered what amounted to a desk job, so it was time to say goodbye.

His goal is to raise $100,000 for brain tumor research, with the money going to the American Brain Tumor Association, an organization he describes as first-rate.

"They were very helpful to me at a really scary time in my life," Kissinger said.

To learn more about Kissinger and his effort to raise money for brain tumor research visit the Web site http://www.brainsflight.com/

Rick Rousos can be reached at rick.rousos@theledger.com or 863-802-7516.