Life-changing medical conditions are often beyond our control. As a pilot, the reality of being denied a medical and being grounded indefinitely is inconceivable. There is hope for pilots who may be or have been diagnosed with serious medical conditions including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and many types of cancer.
The FAA will reexamine many medical conditions, including organ transplants, that were once considered too high a risk for medical certification but now can be evaluated under the FAA special issuance authorization. On a case-by-case basis, the FAA will consider special issuance medical applications from pilots with successful cancer treatments and neurological and neuromuscular conditions if symptoms are well controlled with medications allowed for flight.