The Truth About Remission

I want to take a few minutes to explain some of the complex misunderstandings of what Remission actually entails. 

The definition of remission is:

A diminution of the seriousness or intensity of disease or pain; a temporary recovery.

Note the presence of the most important word in that definition: temporary.

The nuances between Remission and being Cured are not always well described.
The most common way to explain what remission is really about is to liken it to a volcano. Just because a volcano goes dormant does not mean that it ceases to be a volcano. In many cases, there is still hot magma flowing underneath the mountainous surface. There continue to be earthquakes (albeit small) and shifting. Some volcanoes go dormant for tens of thousands of years, and some remain active on a more consistent basis. They have several stages that occur before a full-blown eruption, which can all be measured, but are not apparent just by looking at the mountain.

This is a fairly decent comparison. Some people will experience measurable symptoms consistently, even while in remission. Some people never experience enough symptom relief to be deemed inactive; dormant.
Remission is a 'temporary recovery' in most cases. If someone is in remission, it means that they have an illness that will continue to be an issue for a lifetime. Remission is not the same as being cured. It is a break... a recess.
A cure is when there is no trace of any disease anymore. All symptoms, all measurable data, everything has disappeared. The reason chronic illness is so absolutely difficult to cure is that we often do not know the underlying CAUSE of the illness. So even if we can get someone in full remission, there is still something there. A genetic mutation perhaps, a malfunction of the immune system causing autoimmunity, a missing protein or component in the blood, a virus, a bacteria, a spec of some microscopic thing that floats around in the body just waiting to strike again.
Even more confusing is the fact that remission does not always mean an absence of symptoms. People who go into Remission with Crohn's Disease, for instance, may still have diarrhea on a regular basis, or bloating, or severe fatigue, or urgency. Their doctors may look at their scans and see nothing alarming, while the patient continues to suffer from symptoms (although usually more mild than previously).

I have never been deemed to be in remission. It is possible that the Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis I was once diagnosed with has been in remission for years, but in my case there is a complete absence of symptoms and positive test results, so I may just in fact be cured of PSC.
When I see others in remission from IBD, I think that the most challenging part of remission is that you wind up living every single day with a little nagging voice in the back of your mind reminding you that it could come back, in full-force, at any given time. You get nervous, and even breathless, each year at follow-up appointments. Each and every scan is terrifying - even in remission. This is because you know it is still there - somewhere - lurking in the shadows of your cells. Unseen, unheard, unexpected.

Remission is just a break. Remission does not mean that the disease itself is gone, it is just taking a nap.