This adaptation to illness has been much reported, with many studies suggesting that
patients may differ from controls markedly in physical complaints while differing little or not
at all in terms of psychological complaints. For example Cassillet et al. (1982, cited
Breetvelt & Van Dam 1991) found that melanoma patients had superior psychologic well
being to other patients suffering dermatological disorders, and moreover the mean score
for patients was not different from that of the normal public