The many-voiced cultural story line of a case of diabetes mellitus.

An ethnographic approach is used to conduct and describe my research into a case of chronic illness and to assist the family physician's interventions. What at first appeared to be a frustrating, difficult-to-control case of diabetes mellitus was later revealed to be an intricate drama involving multiple voices and issues: marital, life stage, family, religious, occupational, regional, economic, and physician family-of-origin. Questions such as who has the disease?, what is the disease?, what keeps the disease going?, who is the patient?, and who is the clinician? are explored in the context of this case. The case was "solved" when the loss and sadness of aging was discovered and accepted during a cathartic session involving the diabetic patient, her husband, their family physician, and myself, a consultant.