As the word cure continues to reappear in popular culture, people with incurable diseases and their healthcare providers need to understand its meaning. Cure is more than just a term used to communicate treatment success; it’s also an important concept that can help people with chronic conditions manage their lives and have realistic expectations.

In clinical trials, cure is typically defined as a group of disease-free patients whose mortality rate is the same as that of the general population (van Balen et al. 2021). This definition reflects the need for a standard of outcome measurement to be able to compare outcomes between different treatments and is often linked with an element of time (e.g., five years).

However, in clinical care, a more personalised understanding of what curing means is also recognised. For example, some people with hemophilia see a cure as overcoming social stigma, allowing them to live full lives and changing their identity. Similarly, for those living with chronic diseases like hepatitis C, the goal of a cure may be to normalize their lives and achieve a sense of health.

These differences make it challenging to establish a definition of cure that is applicable across conditions and patients. As a result, doctors may avoid using the word when discussing their patients’ progress, even when they are confident that the condition will not return. Instead, they may prefer to discuss remission and recovery. Other terms with similar but distinct meanings include: