They are chronic medical conditions, not chronic illnesses. Illnesses get better, kill you, or are a reaction to a real or perceievd disease state that cause certain behaviors.

I am a stickler for trying to use the right word at the right time to describe a situation. Disease and illness do not mean the same thing.

from: http://www.differencebetween.net/lan...s-and-disease/

You may have heard about the terms illness and disease on a regular basis. Do the terms mean the same things? Well, almost, but not quite. There is some difference between the usages of the terms, so you should be careful while using them.

Illness and disease both cause the same feelings of discomfort, pain or unease in people. However, an illness is more of a subjective feeling. This means that there is really no identifiable reason behind the condition. Of course, if the condition behind the illness is identified, it is more often referred to as a disease. However, in more generalized terms, we can define an illness as a state where the person has feelings of pain or discomfort that does not have an identifiable reason.

A disease refers to a condition where the body or the parts of the body of a person does not work properly. There is usually a pathological reason behind the condition.

Pathogens are those agents that may cause a disease in a person. For instance; there may be a bacterial or a viral attack on some part of the body that causes feelings of pain and discomfort in the person. It may also include such pain or discomfort that is caused by a particular malfunctioning of the body due to other factors. For instance, mental diseases are diseases that cause the typical symptoms of discomfort and abnormal functioning. However, the reason behind such a condition is rarely related to pathogens. Once the reason behind such discomfort has been identified, it is usually referred to as a disease.

In medical terms, a disease is described as an abnormal condition in any organism that obstructs its bodily function. It may, in rare cases, even cause the death of the person concerned. If we use it in a broader sense, it may even refer to disabilities and injuries, infections and deviant behavior. It is important to note that even the brain is a human organ, and is therefore prone to illnesses and disease. The main effect of a disease is felt when a particular organ of the body or the body as a whole fails to maintain its condition of balance and stability. This condition is referred to in medical terms as homeostasis.



It is important to note that both illness and disease result in more or less the same symptoms. However, an illness can be cured in most cases. For instance, cold, flu or gastrointestinal diseases can be cured by treatment. However, there are a number of diseases that cannot be cured. In medical terms, both are undesirable, as they interfere with the state of homeostasis.

Summary:

1. An illness is a vague condition that causes discomfort or pain. A disease refers to a condition that has established reasons behind it.
2. An illness is mostly curable. There are some diseases that cannot be cured, only managed