I remember hearing on the radio that they had found a cure, or are close to a cure for a type of diabeties? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Diabetes is not really "curable", it is treatable, but curable not so much.
Here's the ultra brief break down of diabetes:
Type 1: The insulin producing cells in your pancreas have died. You must manually give yourself insulin several times a day, for the rest of your life, you will be permanantly aware of and thinking about your diabetes, every thing you do, eat and drink will be accompanied by a mental conversation about how this affects your diabetes, even what time you go to sleep and get up will be subject to your diabetic requirements. If you are lucky or wealthy you might get to wear an insulin pump, attached like a life giving umbilical to constantly feed insulin under your skin.
Unfortunately, it's hard to manage type 1 very well with present technology, even if you have a pump. It's like using a sledge hammer to hit a tack.
Potential for "cure" is presently limited to pancreatic transplant, the cure is worse than the disease and really only done at the same time as a kidney transplant.
Long term "as good as the real thing" treatment is getting closer though with the potential for xeno transplantation of pig islets (insulin cells) into patients, the cells are from a special group of pigs which are bred in NZ under strict quarantine, the cells ecapsulated in a membrane which disguises them to avoid rejection problems, then injected. They can last maybe months or longer, working just like the real things, or at least helping. By closer, I mean that human trials are going to start again soon, but I could see it being a decade from actual general usage.
Type 2: Your insulin producing cells don't produce enough insulin, or your body isn't sensitive enough to the insulin, meaning that you must use a combination of diet, exercise and possibly oral medication to reduce your insulin requirements or increase your sensitivity. In more serious cases supplemental insulin maybe required. Managing type 2 is I think it would be fair to say, an easier affair.
The danger with diabetic pilots, particularly type 1, is that of sudden incapacitation due to low blood sugar. When somebody runs low on blood sugar their brain goes a bit crazy (quite like hypoxia really), possibly without realising it you will make mistakes, and it's a very quick journey from being a little bit low to being "that's funny, why is the ground getting bigger, what am I supposed to do with this stick thing again, is it push forward or pull back" low, a few minutes.
To the subject at hand:
I am a type 1 diabetic, even if I *could* hide the condition, which is impossible (maybe for type 2 you could), I would not, because quite simply, whilst I don't LIKE that I don't have some of the options in life that others do with regards to flying and other occupations/recreations like this, I do ACCEPT that the reasons for this are well founded.
I am permitted to fly microlights in New Zealand (and this is the case in most countries I believe, for various definitions of microlight), and could - should I get my doctors approval and appropriate ratings - take a passenger, however I personally would not be comfortable in doing so unless that passenger was also a pilot, and even then they would be well briefed. I have to accept that there is the possibility, no matter how good I could be at diabetic control (and I'm not that good at all), that I could make one single slip up, take a double dose accidentally, and the show comes to a sticky end if that kicks in at X000 feet without me noticing it quickly.
I don't mind increasing the danger to myself to a degree, I do not however wish to cause increased risk to innocent passengers.
As a result, in my opinion, Diabetics like myself (and others with similar disqualifying conditions) need to accept that, yeah, it really really sucks, but it's the right and just thing that they are disqualified.