How many of us have heard this. “You’ve Been Seeing Your Doctor for Over a Year. Aren’t You Cured, Yet?”
Chronic illnesses are just that: chronic. They don’t simply stop because you have been seeing a doctor for a year, or five years, or twenty years. Sometimes you will feel better. Sometimes you will feel worse. Some illnesses go into remission for a while, while others can be managed well enough that symptoms become less noticeable. But managing a chronic illness is not the same thing as curing it.
Medicines are not cures. Yes, medications can relieve symptoms, slow the progression of a disease, reduce inflammation, prevent complications, or help keep an illness under control. Some can make an enormous difference in a person’s quality of life. But needing medication to keep a disease under control is treatment, not a cure.
Yoga is not a cure. For some people with chronic illnesses, yoga may help with flexibility, strength, balance, stress, or even social isolation. For others, certain movements may be difficult or inappropriate. Either way, yoga does not make the underlying chronic illness disappear.
Diet is not a cure. Good nutrition is important, and dietary changes can make a tremendous difference for certain symptoms and conditions. At the same time, some chronic illnesses severely restrict what a person can safely eat, so the diet that helped one person may actually be harmful to someone else. Food can be an important part of managing health without being a cure.
Braces are not a cure. Braces and other supportive devices can stabilize joints, improve alignment, reduce pain, protect weakened areas, and sometimes make everyday activities much easier. They are tools that help someone function with a condition. They do not eliminate the condition itself.
Vitamins are not a cure. People with certain chronic illnesses may need additional vitamins because of deficiencies, malabsorption, medications, or other medical problems, and correcting a deficiency can be extremely important. But taking extra vitamins does not cure an unrelated chronic disease simply because vitamins are “natural.”
Turmeric is not a cure. Turmeric and curcumin have been studied for possible anti-inflammatory effects, and some people may find them helpful as part of their overall care. That does not make them a replacement for appropriate medical treatment, nor does reducing a symptom mean the underlying disease has been cured.
Physical therapy is not a cure. Physical therapy can be incredibly valuable for maintaining or rebuilding strength, improving mobility and balance, reducing pain, preventing further loss of function, and helping someone adapt after surgery, injury, hospitalization, or prolonged immobility. Sometimes the goal of physical therapy is not to make someone “well.” It is to help them function as well and as safely as possible with the body they have.
Juicing is not a cure. Fruits and vegetables contain important nutrients, and some people enjoy juice as part of their diet. But turning those fruits and vegetables into juice does not give them the ability to cure autoimmune disease, neurological disease, cancer, genetic disorders, or other chronic illnesses. In fact, depending on someone’s medical condition, large amounts of juice may not even be appropriate for them.
I know this will offend some people, but prayer is not a cure. Prayer can bring comfort, hope, strength, peace, and a sense of connection to people who believe in it, and those things can be incredibly meaningful when someone is living with serious illness. But faithful people still become sick, and faithful people still die. I knew several women who were treated for cancer when I was. They were faithful, prayerful, kind, and generous, and they still died from cancer while I survived. Their deaths were not evidence that they didn’t pray hard enough, believe strongly enough, or deserve healing less than I did.
Essential oils are not a cure. Some people enjoy essential oils because they find certain scents relaxing, comforting, or helpful for things such as stress or nausea. There is nothing wrong with enjoying something that makes you feel better, provided it is used safely. But feeling better and being cured are two very different things.
Exercise is not a cure. Appropriate movement can help maintain strength, cardiovascular health, flexibility, balance, and independence, and for many people it is an important part of managing a chronic condition. But more exercise is not always better. With some illnesses, pushing beyond the body’s limits can worsen symptoms or trigger a significant setback. Exercise should be appropriate for the person and the condition, not prescribed by strangers as though it were a universal cure.
Avoiding sugar is not a cure. Reducing excessive added sugar can certainly be part of a healthy diet, and some people may find that dietary changes help them manage particular symptoms or health conditions. But eliminating sugar does not cure autoimmune diseases, genetic disorders, neurological diseases, or most other chronic illnesses. Our bodies also convert carbohydrates into glucose because glucose is an important source of energy. “Sugar causes inflammation” is often presented as though eliminating every source of sugar will eliminate inflammation and therefore eliminate disease, but human biology is far more complicated than that. You can make thoughtful choices about sugar without pretending that avoiding it is a cure.
Surgery is not always a cure. Surgery can repair damage, remove diseased tissue, replace damaged joints, correct structural problems, relieve symptoms, prevent complications, and sometimes treat one particular consequence of a chronic disease. But a successful surgery does not necessarily eliminate the disease that caused the damage in the first place. Someone can recover from surgery and still have the same chronic illness afterward.
Supplements are not a cure. There are supplements that have legitimate medical uses, particularly when someone has a documented deficiency or a condition that creates a specific nutritional need. But “supplement” does not automatically mean harmless, effective, or appropriate for everyone. Supplements can interact with medications, affect medical conditions, and sometimes cause harm. They should not be presented as cures simply because they can be purchased without a prescription.
There is an important difference between treatment, symptom relief, disease management, improved function, remission, and a cure. Something does not have to cure an illness to be worthwhile. A treatment that reduces pain, preserves mobility, prevents complications, or gives someone a better quality of life can be enormously valuable.
But when someone has a chronic illness, the goal of medical care is often not to “finally cure them.” The goal may be to control the disease, slow its progression, prevent additional damage, treat complications, preserve as much function as possible, and help that person live the best life they can.
So, if someone has been seeing doctors for years and is still sick, that doesn’t mean they haven’t tried hard enough, found the right diet, taken the right supplement, exercised enough, prayed enough, or discovered the right doctor.
Sometimes it simply means they have a chronic illness.
And chronic does not mean curable if you just try hard enough.
