Does meditation help with chronic illness?

Well, I'd say a definite yes. As we go through our life, our bodies and minds get bent out of shape. We hold stress contracted in our muscles and thought patterns that have adapted to cope with life. This chronic stress depletes us and, if we are unfortunate enough to fall ill, everything comes home to roost - the body has nothing left, and what we used to rely on (energy, our youth, being tough, working till we drop, worrying things to death) doesn't work anymore. So then, meditation is coming home, unravelling our bent out of shape lives. It allows us to taste a different sense of who we are - relaxed, spacious, flexible, patient - qualities that help out minds to come to terms with a long, life altering illness.