Introduction
Today, no medical theory nor practice has clear definitions of cure, cures, curing, nor cured, much less a comprehensive definition covering all curable types of illness, sickness, and disease. This paper summarizes concepts of cure, as published in the book A New Theory of Cure. All cures are based on cause. We begin by defining and analyzing an elementary illness, having a single cause, cured by addressing that cause. These concepts are explored and expanded, creating a theory based on the two fundamental types of illness causes encompassing acute, compound, complex, repeating, and chronic cases of illness.
Theory Of Cure
Illness, Disease, and Sickness: Judgement
Each case of illness, disease, or sickness is a negative judgement by a person or community. Traditionally, an illness is what the person perceives, the patient’s view, the patient’s judgement. A disease is a medical view, what the doctor diagnoses, a medical community judgment. Sickness is a community view or judgement. Sometimes we use words like a disorder for mental illnesses or medical condition for a status, perhaps when we can’t clearly assign a disease name.
A person might have one, two, or more, possibly conflicting perceptions of their illness. Their judgements change over time, as does the illness. A single case of disease might be judged differently, medical judgements ranging from disease being present or absent and from one disease to another, when judged by different medical authorities – even more so when alternative practitioners are consulted. We each live in many communities, each having the potential to make many independent judgements of a sickness. Each of these three perspectives is related and independent. The actual illness, as well as each view of it, can change independently over time.
Cure
This text is about curable illnesses. The term used herein is illness. An illness is an intersection of present cause and consequences. It is not something we can see or touch, although we might see or touch some causes and consequences.
Cured is a positive judgement. The cure cause in each case is a judgement validated by the cure action that changed the status from ill to cured. Past and future causes are hypothetical, judged statistically, difficult to prove and rarely curative. Judgements might be right, or wrong, or partially right or wrong. However, to study illnesses and cures we must judge. A curable illness is a judgement that it can be fixed, cured, every illness being potentially curable. A cure proves curability. Incurable can never be proven. Death, many have commented, some calmly, some sarcastically, being the final cure.
Every illness is a consequence of a change. A cure is a change that converts an illness state forward to a non-illness state, rarely a change back to the previous state. Life moves forward. The simplest illness has a single cause, a change in a single aspect of healthiness. The simplest cure is to address that cause.
Health is whole. An illness is a hole in health, a hole in healthiness, a judgement that a hole exists. A cure repairs the hole, creating and improving wholeness.
It is useful to view an illness as a problem. We are familiar with solving many simple and complex problems. Problems with single causes, are easily solved. Compound problems, having multiple causes, are more difficult. Complex problems exist when one problem causes another, requiring two or more solutions, and sequencing can be important. A flat tire is a problem, the cause is usually a hole in the tire, cured by fixing the hole and re-inflating the tire.
Elementary Illness
The illness diagram is intentionally simple.
An element of illness has a single present cause maintaining the illness state, which when changed in some way produces a cured state. It also has causes in the past, which cannot be accessed to cure. We can use a similar model for any simple problem.
An elementary illness, an illness element, has a single cause and many consequences, some of which might be positive and negative. As in many aspects of life, it can be difficult to separate good and bad. When an illness has multiple causes present or when an illness causes an illness, a new diagram is required to represent each additional element of illness, its cause and cure. When a problem has more than one cause, we visualize each element as another problem, requiring another diagram.
The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.
— SOCRATES
We have many historical definitions of illness and disease, few of cure. To create, develop, and study a theory of cure, we begin with simple, clear definitions.
| Illness Element (aka an Elementary Illness) | An Illness Elementor an Elementary Illness consists of a single present cause which, together with its resulting negative signs, symptoms, and consequences, is judged to be an illness. |
We judge an illness element cured when its cause has been successfully addressed. Likewise, we can judge the cause to be addressed when an illness is cured. Illness elements can be combined to study and understand simple, compound, and complex illnesses, their causes, and cures.
| Element of Cure | An Element of Cure is an action (or intentional inaction) that addresses the cause of an element of illness, resolving or curing the illness. The illness is cured, not the patient. |
An element of cure might require several individual actions to address a single cause. Curative stages sometimes progress slowly. It is possible, perhaps even common, to have a partial element of cure when we partially address the cause, partially curing the illness.
Causes and Cures
There are many causes of healthiness and illness. No cause produces healthiness or illness every time. Addressing the present cause of illness produces a cure. Causes of healthiness and illness exist in every person’s past, present, and future diets, bodies, minds, spirits, communities, and environments. Past and future causes do not lead to cures unless they are also present causes. We study past causes to avoid future causes, to prevent illness.
| Present Cause (aka cure cause) | The Present Cause or the cure cause is the cause presently responsible for a specific case and state of an illness element, such that a curative action that addresses that cause cures the illness. |
A present cause of illness can be
- a noun, the presence or the absence of a thing or attribute
- a verb, the presence or absence of a process.
There are no other types of present causes of illness.
| Attribute Illness | An Attribute Illness has an attribute cause, something which, when transformed to a non-illness-causing state, results in a cure. |
The cause of a curable attribute illness is the presence or absence of a physical, mental, spirit, community or environmental attribute which can be changed to produce a cure. Attribute causes of illness also have past causes which we cannot access to cure unless they are also present causes.
| Transformational Cure (aka attribute cure) | A Transformational Cure or attribute illness cure is a one-time change to an attribute cause that results in a cure. |
Surgery is the classic transformational cure, transforming the flesh. Most curative transformations are slower and less severe. Growth, healing, and immune systems produce natural transformational cures, although they can also cause illnesses. An antibiotic medicine cures by transforming the infectious agent to dead. Each attribute cause has many potential curative transformations. As a result, each attribute illness has many potential cures.
| Injury | Injuries are attribute illnesses where the present cause and the illness, are one and the same: the injury. |
The concept of an injury element is less important than other illness elements because all injuries have the same basic cure: healing. However, some injuries require intentional caring or curative actions in which case we might judge the injuries complex or compound.
When injuries are caused by an illness, the injuries are independent illness elements, requiring independent illness cures. Curing the primary illness can facilitate healing but does not cure.
| Healing Cure | Most injuries are cured by healing, a natural unconscious process, which often proceeds continuously even when the patient is asleep or unconscious. |
Sometimes, additional personal or community actions are needed to facilitate or aid healing. Mom kisses and bandages a scraped knee. In more severe cases, medical attention might be necessary.
| Causal Illness (aka process illness) | A Causal illness has a process or verb cause maintaining the illness state. When that process is changed such that no illness is caused, the illness is cured. |
A process cause of a curable illness is the presence or absence of a process of diet, body, mind, spirits, communities, or environments that can be changed to produce a cure. Process causes are often part of complex chains of cause where many different interventions might produce different cured states. Each element in a process chain also has many potentially curative transformations.
| Causal Cure (aka preventive cure) | A Causal Cure or preventive cure addresses a process cause which, when changed to a non-illness-causing process, results in a cure. Causal cure actions (or their intentional absence) must be maintained, consciously or unconsciously, to maintain the cured state. |
Changes to diet, growth, healing, exercise, and resting processes of body, mind, spirits, or communities might cause illness or produce cures. Sometimes the maintenance of a preventative cure process becomes an unconscious action, an attribute of the cured patient. Sometimes a preventive cure action causes a transformation of an attribute cause, resulting in a secondary cure.
Curative changes to an attribute of a process are transformational cures, not preventative cures because they do not need to be continued to maintain the cured state.
Distingushing Illness Types
| Attribute, Injury, and Causal Illnesses: Causes, and Cures The distinctions between attribute illnesses, causal illnesses, and injuries are concepts of gradation, seldom perfectly clear. Signs and symptoms of illness do not define the cause. Only a cure proves a cause. When an illness element is cured by a transformation of attribute cause – it was an attribute illness. When an illness element is cured by an ongoing process, it was a causal illness. When an illness element is cured by healing, it was an injury. |
We distinguish between attribute and process causes to find cures and to facilitate curing. It can sometimes be difficult to classify the cure of a specific illness element as a process change, a healing, or an attribute transformation – even after a cure is attained. We might view a new job, an attribute cure, or as a causal cure – because it is present and necessary every day to maintain the cured state. Healing is always a present and active process, participating in every cure.
The disease concept is not based on cause and diseases cannot be assigned to specific causal types. Most diseases cannot be cured unless they are mapped to a curable illness.
Curing
Every cure is the result of a transformation of a present cause. Most cures are trivial. We ignore most cures, focusing our attention on cases difficult enough to require action by our medical communities. This focus blinds us to most cures – which are trivial, too simple to require medical attention.
| Healing | Healing is unconscious curing, consisting of unconscious intentional curative actions of a patient’s body, mind, spirits, and communities, including, but not limited to medical communities. |
Healing is the natural transformation of attribute, injury, and process causes that cures most illnesses. Many illness elements are healed before we become conscious of them. Sometimes we notice the consequences of healing long after a cure completes. We can support and enhance healing by improving the healthiness of the person, their body, mind, spirits, communities and their internal and external environments.
| Curing (includes Caring) | Curing consists of intentional actions or processes undertaken by a patient or their communities to transform an illness cause and produce a cured state. |
The patient and their communities easily cure most elements of illnesses which cannot be healed. Even dogs lick their wounds and birds preen each other. Many different curative actions might effectively address any cause of illness. Medical cures, brought about by a recognized medical authority are rare because most illnesses are trivial. Cures are rarely recognized, much less studied.
| Definition: Caring | Caring is an important part of healing and curing, including both self-cure and community cure. When we care, cures become more common, more efficient, and more effective. |
Caring is intentional. Both conscious and unconscious caring actions can aid and produce cures. Cures are less efficient and less effective when caring is weak or absent. Most medical treatments are about caring, not curing, because most are treatments that make no attempt to cure. Medical Standards of Care, for example, rarely reference cures. Caring also includes actions to care for others, not just patients, including care for consequences of illnesses and treatments which cannot be cured. This paper is about curing, not about caring.
Consequences of Illness
Consequences of Illness are not limited to signs and symptoms. Consequences can affect diet, body, mind, spirits, communities, and environments. Illnesses, while uncured, often cause injuries and other secondary illnesses and sequala. Many diseases cannot be diagnosed medically until injuries, or other severe consequences occur – by design, because medical interventions, especially those that do not cure, increase risk.
| Acute Illness | An Acute Illness is an illness that appears suddenly, sometimes with severe consequences. Acute illnesses are often injuries, like a broken arm or heart attack, where the illness is also the present cause. Past causes might be simple, compound, complex, repeating, or chronic. |
We often heal minor acute illnesses without conscious intent, or their causes disappear, and they fade away. However, if the causes, signs, symptoms, consequences, or prognoses are significant, prolonged or dangerous, additional curative medical or non-medical actions might be necessary. Some acute illnesses are a result of chronic illness, or a result of a chronic negative health status that continues downward until – and often after – the acute illness element occurs.
| Chronic Illness | A Chronic Illness has a chronic cause. Chronic is an attribute of the cause, not the illness. Curing a chronic illness requires a transformation of the chronic nature, the chronic attribute of its cause. |
We can view any chronic illness as an attribute illness caused by the chronic attribute of its cause.
Simple injuries are not chronic. Injuries are only chronic when the injury cause is also present and chronic. Attribute illnesses are naturally chronic, existing until the causal attribute is transformed, unless the causal attribute’s presence or its effects are temporary. Causal illnesses are also naturally chronic unless the causal process is temporary.
A Repeating Illness exists when a cause recurs repeadly after a cure. When a new instance of cause creates an illness, it’s a new illness, not remission followed by recurrence. Repeating vs chronic is a judgement specific to the case and its cause.
An acute illness might cause a chronic illness. However, these causes are in the past. We might study them to prevent future illness, but cannot access them to cure a present illness. The present cause must be transformed to cure.
| Compound Illness | A Compound Illness has multiple causes resulting in the same, similar, or overlapping signs, symptoms, and consequences judged to be a single illness or disease. |
Illnesses uncured and chronic illnesses often accumulate causes. A compound illness might have a combination of attribute and process causes. Causes might be similar, almost identical, related, or independent. When an illness is truly compound, we need to address each cause to produce a complete cure. If a single action cures, the illness was elementary. A cure can change our perception.
A compound illness with exactly two causes is reduced to an elementary illness when either cause is addressed. Addressing a single cause of a compound illness might produce an almost complete cure in some cases or while making little difference in others.
| Complex Illness | A Complex Illness is present when a present illness is the cause of a secondary illness. |
There are two types, or two views of complex illness, depending on perspective:
- when an illness causes further injuries and illnesses, (when scurvy causes injuries)
- when an illness is caused by another illness (when scurvy is caused by additions).
| Each of the three types of illness, causal illnesses, injury illnesses, and attribute illnesses, has a natural tendency to cause the next illness in this circle, to create a complex illness. Causal illnesses can cause injuries. Many causal illnesses cannot be diagnosed until injuries occur. Injuries, and their healing, can create negative attributes which cause attribute illnesses. Attribute illnesses force us to change our life processes, which can result in causal illness. When illnesses are uncured, the result can be a downward spiral of illness causing illness. |
Most diseases are complex illnesses because most illnesses cannot be diagnosed as a disease until injuries or other illness consequences result from the primary illness element.
Cured
A cure of a case of illness requires three conditions to be met:
- present causes have been successfully addressed,
- Healing to address negative consequences of the illness and of cure actions has completed,
- No more medicines are necessary for the signs and symptoms of illness.
| Cured | An element of illness is cured when its cause has been successfully addressed. Many illnesses and many diseases are compound, complex, or both. A compound, complex, repeating, or chronic case of illness is cured when each of its causes have been successfully addressed. |
In most elementary cases, once the present cause is addressed, healing completes the cure. A curative transformation of a cause might cause damage requiring additional healing. Addressing signs, symptoms, and non-injury consequences of disease seldom results in a cure, unless the illness can be cured by healing.
An element of illness is Permanently Cured once the cause has been successfully addressed. If the cause occurs again, a new case of that illness element might, or might not result. A Temporary Cure exists when a cause of illness is temporarily addressed. A temporary cure might be judged permanent until the cause occurs again or if the cause is not expected to create illness during the person’s lifetime.
A Complete Cure exists when all causes of an illness have been addressed, healing has completed, and no more medicines are necessary for signs and symptoms. Like all illnesses and all cures, a complete cure is a judgement.
A Partial Cure exists when some causes of an illness have been at least partially addressed. Results of partial cures of illness, disease, or sickness might range from insignificant, to sufficient, to beneficial, even to improving non-illness aspects of the patient’s healthiness.
Holistic cure actions are those that add to the wholeness of the health of the patient. Vitamin C is a holistic cure for scurvy because it fills the ‘hole’ created by an absence of Vitamin C. Reductionist cures, like cutting off a gangrenous toe – do not add to the healthiness of the patient, they subract from overall healthiness to avert further damage. Cure actions can exist on a scale between being holistic and reductionist.
Perfect Cures do not exist, even when the consequences of an illness and its cure prove better than before the illness. Life moves forward, not backwards.
Remission is not a cure. Remission is a diminishing or disappearance of signs and symptoms of disease without addressing any cause.
Miracle Cures: There are no miracle cures, only cures we do not understand.
Accidental cures: like accidental illnesses, can also occur. Most accidental cures, like most cures, are simply ignored.
Discussion
Summary: The cause of an illness can be the presence or absence of a negative attribute or process in the diet, body, mind, spirits, communities, or environments of the patient. A cure addresses and thus proves the cause.
Injury and non-injury illnesses can result from growth, even from successes as well as from failures.
Life is about setting and maintaining boundaries, from cell walls to community relationships. Boundaries might be healthy, unhealthy, or damaged. Some life boundaries are physical, some are processes; some are mental, spirit, or community boundaries. Many attribute and process illnesses can be seen as boundary failures or caused by unhealthy boundaries. Cures are often a healing of a failed boundary.
An injury is the simplest element of illness ranging from trivial, like a paper cut to serious wounds, burns, and mental or spirit injuries like PTSD. The injury itself is the present cause of negative signs, symptoms, and consequences. Injuries can be present in:
Body: injuries to cells, tissues, limbs, organs, bodily systems, or the entire body;
Mind: injuries to memory, calculation, or thinking processes;
Spirits: injuries causing deficient, disrupted, excessive, or unhealthy emotions, intentions, or goals;
Communities: injuries to community aspects of a patient range from neglect or isolation to abuse;
Environments of the patient. Body, mind, spirits, and communities are layered environments and injuries in any layer might produce signs and symptoms in many other layers.
Most injuries are trivial, cured so easily by our natural life processes, that we rarely observe, much less recognize the illness, much less the cure or the cause of the cure.
A Cure is the Best Preventative
We can see from the circle of illness, that cures are necessary to prevent further illness. Scurvy, hernia and myopia are illnesses that might be easily healed if addressed early, but require medical attention after they progress to cause serious damage.
Infectious diseases are attribute illnesses when they are cured by addressing the attribute cause, causal illnesses when cured by addressing a process cause. Eg. When killing the infectious agent cures, it was an attribute illness. When the cure is a result of a process continually removing the infectious agent from the environment or improving healthiness such that the agent no longer causes illness, the illness cured was causal. The cure proves the cause.
Non-injury causal illnesses, like minor malnutrition, are common and often persist for years without diagnosis as a disease. Many grow slowly over time, like obesity and smoker’s cough. The cure is to change the process cause, improve the daily diet – a positive process, or quit smoking – a negative process. The curative process must be maintained to maintain the cured state. When the cause is addressed while consequences are minor, the case is rarely considered a disease, much less a cure.
Compound injuries like several injuries from an accident are often treated as a single injury unless separate treatments are needed. Compound injuries are recognized medically only when multiple treatment actions are necessary.
Compound illnesses are often chronic. Chronic diseases are often compound illnesses. Malnutrition, for example, often consists of multiple present causes – deficiencies of some nutrients, excesses of others. Many process and attribute causes of body, mind, spirits, communities or environments contribute to a severe case of starvation or obesity. Combinations of negative attributes and processes can also lead to diseases like depression, diabetes, arthritis, gout, heart disease, and many other non-infectious diseases. At present, the concept of a compound cure does not exist. No compound cures are recognized medically, except perhaps in the case of compound injury. Many medical practitioners, especially alternative practitioners, not constrained by Standards of Care (which rarely cure) recommend shotgun-style treatments, addressing multiple causes at once. These techniques increase the likelihood of cures while decreasing our understanding of specific causes. Is it more important to cure, or to understand?
Complex illnesses might be short-term when an injury allows a minor infection to develop, or long-term in chronic illnesses like diabetes, where one illness causes many other illness elements over time. In general, the primary illness must be cured in order to prevent secondary illnesses. Each secondary illness must also be cured. Scurvy, for example, has a chronic cause in the patient’s diet, which must be addressed to provide a cure. Over a relatively short time, it can cause many injury illnesses which need to be healed or otherwise cured. Today, there is no medical definition of nor test for a complex cure and as a result, complex cures cannot be medically recognized even when they occur. Although there are many claims of diabetes or arthritis cured, for example, none can be proven. However, none can be proven uncured either. Cured being undefined, uncured cannot be defined either.
Chronic Diseases are generally considered incurable. This is a misunderstanding resulting from failure to recognize the fundamental cause of a chronic illness. Chronic diseases have chronic causes.
Statistical Preventatives
Epidemiologists study disease causes statistically to prevent disease, not to cure. A statistical cause is a cure cause only when present in a specific case. Statistical cures like cure-rates are simply not cures. Today, epidemiology has no definition of cured and no statistics about cures of any disease. Every cure is a specific case, a story, an anecdote. Epidemiologists study disease and cause statistically, intentionally ignoring single cases as anecdotes, thus ignoring cures.
