Jaye,

People sympathize with you if you have PD, but if you have cancer they empathize. I suppose that's the difference. Nobody wants sympathy, for anything! It's just somebody thinking, "So glad I don't have that to deal with!". It's about pity and distancing oneself. Empathy is action-oriented, putting yourself in someone else's shoes and asking yourself, "How can I ease this person's suffering?".

And there are no Get Well Soon cards for chronic ailments. There ought to be.