Chronic Illness describes a group of health conditions that last long periods of time. Basically, they are conditions or problems that limit what a person can do and may never go away. This does not mean the person with a chronic illness will always be sick. In some instances, the illness may be cyclical, such as Crohne’s Disease, which presents with flare-ups and periods relatively free of symptoms. Other chronic illnesses may be completely controlled with medications. Some illnesses that are categorized as chronic are: AIDS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Arthritis, Migraines, Cancer, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Parkinson’s Disease, Diabetes, most Respiratory ailments (asthma, etc), and cardiac problems. This list is not exhaustive, but used to illustrate the variety of illnesses considered to be chronic.