Eventually most people diagnosed with a chronic illness start to accept their condition. Most chronic illness requires patients to do something for themselves: dietary changes and quitting smoking after a heart attack or stroke, keeping to a medication schedule in many illnesses, and with cancer, being watchful for recurrence. Patients who take a realistic and practical attitude are more likely to have a positive outcome.
Other issues affect how people cope with chronic illness. Studies show that patients who believe they can exert some control over illness – usually, by actively participating in treatment – have a better chance of recovery: cancer patients who feel in control adjust better to the demands of their condition, as do those with rheumatoid arthritis, AIDS, spinal cord injury and patients recovering from a heart attack.
Many people with a chronic illness feel that their sense of self is eroded and that the illness makes them a different person. However, difficult it seems, sufferers need to realize that they are still the same person, irrespective of their condition. For example, a man does not cease to be a loving husband because he has a debilitating illness.
Some people have even found that chronic illness has some benefits, in that it encouraged them to focus on what is important in life, and encourage them to live a meaningful and quality lifestyle. Many discover that the condition leads them to appreciate each day more and motivates them to do things that they had previously postponed.
Real Live Story: Living with Cancer
John Diamond, the British journalist and broadcaster who died of throat cancer in March 2001, chronicled the progress of his illness in a newspaper column. He wrote about his experiences of the disease and its effects in an honest and at times humorous way, and in doing do became an inspiration to many people.
Diamond tried to undo some illusions about what it means to be a cancer sufferer, pointing out that undergoing cancer treatment is not really a battle between the patient and the disease: ‘I am not fighting cancer,’ he said, ‘although my doctors are, I hope…’ He wanted to debunk the notion that cancer could be beaten if you tried hard enough.
Despite his illness, Diamond’s self-image did not change because he could continue to do the thing he liked best – writing.