Cure
Commonly asked questions by patients after a diagnosis is “is my condition curable” “will I be cured”. To answer this question, one needs to understand the concept of Cure and Control.
Cure in medical terms means “to restore health and normality of a patient from the disease with treatment, with no sign of residue of the disease”. This means all the symptoms are relieved and the disease itself is removed from the body. For example, an infection is cured with antibiotics.
Control in medical terms means “to reduce the severity of or complete disappearance of the symptoms and prevention of complications from the disease”. Control would mean there is no suffering from the disease though the disease continues to stay in the background and this can be achieved with medications and in well controlled patients, without medications.
Most Rheumatological conditions are autoimmune in nature. The alterations in immune system attack the normal tissues causing the symptoms. Long term medication is required to counter this. As this is an innate (internal) condition. Cure is not possible as the disease continues to exist in the background. Most of the Rheumatological conditions have a Relapse and Remitting pattern, with flare up (worsening of previously well controlled) of the disease activity interspersed with control of the condition. This pattern of Relapse and Remit is very common with all Rheumatological conditions and understanding this is important. It is not advisable to discontinue medication unless the doctor has advised, as symptoms always have a tendency to come back.
Few patients go onto a stage called Remission which is complete absence of symptoms with or without medication. Few patients have complete control of the symptoms and are on very few medications. The lucky few can sustain this even without the medication. Remission without medication is very rare and there is always a chance of relapse. Achieving Remission is possible only when the disease is diagnosed in the early stages and the treatment started is appropriate. This is called the “ Hit hard and Hit fast” approach. Treatment also needs to be regular and under a doctor’s supervision. This state of remission can last for a few months to years. This is the closest to the Cure.
