Man learns life-saving diagnosis after competing on 'Wipeout'

CARLSBAD, CA - A North County pastor always wanted to go on the ABC game show " Wipeout ," but little did he know it would lead to a diagnosis that helped save his life.

"When a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go on the show, I said, I'm a youth pastor, I work with kids, the kids love the show, it was a no-brainer," said Jason Poznaks, a youth pastor at Calvary Church in Carlsbad.

What Poznaks didn't know leading up to the show was a brain tumor had been growing in the back of his head.

On "Wipeout," contestants are physically manhandled as they race through an obstacle course. "Head plants, face plants and a lot of neck snapping, which kind of alerted me that there was something going on," Poznaks said.

After the show taping in April, he flew out of town and by the time he got back, the pain was intense and that's when he saw a specialist. "I was told there was no more room for the tumor to grow; it was about the size of a fist," Poznaks said.

Poznaks had the operation to remove the tumor about two weeks ago and is recovering quite well.

"It was a godsend because it helped us find out more quickly that something was going on," said Poznaks' wife, Natalie.

Despite everything that's happened, Jason Poznaks said, "Oh yeah, I'd do the show again, absolutely."