Thread: Self Grounding?
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Old 11-22-2019, 08:48 PM
  #5  
AirBear
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Joined APC: Dec 2017
Position: Retired NJA & AA
Posts: 1,907
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Around 2004 the FAA considered any form of cancer grounding until they reviewed the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Don't know if it's still that way.

I had a malignant melanoma on the top of my head that was discovered early just by pure dumb luck. This happened about a month after my FAA Medical exam. Melanoma was cut out and sent in to confirm they got it all, which they had. Simple procedure done by a plastic surgeon. I was there less than an hour. Could have been bad but again I got lucky with the early catch.

Fast forward 5 months and I call to schedule my next medical. Ask how to report this incident and they say to call AMAS, which I did. The Doc there informed me I had been flying illegally I had to stop flying even though I was perfectly healthy, fill out a bunch of forms, get my Doc to fill out a bunch of forms, then wait months until I got cleared to fly. I also got a nastygram from the FAA about adhering to regs in the future. Common sense has no place in the FAA bureaucracy
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