Hello. Diagnosed with low-grade Non-Hodgkin's (follicular) Lymphoma in and on tibia bone during summer, last year. Grounded myself immediately, as required. After months of deciding, opted to go with radiation and Rituxan (immunotherapy) only. Achieved a "complete response" and in remission, as of late last year. My First-Class medical was renewed in March, and just received my Special Issuance letter. I was told by many doctors that my disease is incurable and typically follows a remission/relapse cycle (although I can be in remission for many years).

My concern is that when it decides to relapse, because it will likely be slow-growing, my oncologist may decide it's best to just "watch and wait", until I start having symptoms again (pain in the knee). If it relapses, according to my special issuance paperwork, it's considered an "adverse change", and I'll have to immediately report it to Oklahoma City and ground myself yet again (according to the FARs).

Has anybody heard of the FAA allowing this (or any other type of slow-growing cancer) to be dealt with by "watching and waiting", and the FAA allowing one to keep his First-class medical certificate valid? If not, I believe this is something that needs to be changed, as not all cancers are aggressive, or limit a pilot's ability to perform his duties safely. One shouldn't have to ground himself just because a very slow-growing (highly-treatable) cancer is starting to relapse. They should allow the pilot to fly until the point where it (in the opinion of the pilot) just barely begins to become an issue in the flight deck. Can anybody understand where I'm coming from?