ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explores the human experience of illness – both that of the sufferer and that of their friends and family. It primarily concentrates on the initial impact of illness. Unfortunately, the orthodox medical conception of disease is fundamentally different from the lived experience of illness. The sophistication of our sensory equipment is such that, without symptoms, illness is unlikely. This explains why health checks are largely an expensive waste of time. Predicting the likely course of illness is a fundamental part of the healthcare professional's role, even if intuition or inspired guesswork is often flawed. The world of life-threatening illness is a strange landscape to step into, and those who return are irrevocably changed. Egocentricity alters the family dynamic, and problems of dependency, selfishness and unreasonable demands can make life difficult.
