Many doctors may feel ill-equipped to deal with the patient's suffering resulting from the ailments of chronic illness. This essay takes up the thesis that chronically and terminally ill patients can be healed holistically, overcoming the suffering caused by the degradation of their illnesses. Suffering is presented as a story, and doctors can encourage healing by co-creating patients' illness stories. By addressing the inevitable existential conflicts revealed in patients' narratives and helping them edit their stories to promote acceptance and meaning, suffering can be overcome. This requires clinicians to be skilled in narrative medicine and open to engaging with patients' existential concerns. By helping patients move beyond their suffering, clinicians claim to be healers.
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