Both she and her husband had, long before her illness, become interested in cancer research.

Julia smiled to see him happier than he had seemed before her illness.

She hadn't been with a man since well before her illness.

Patient E16 had only been in hospital once, three years before his terminal illness.

Before his illness, he always kept us all at arm's length.

I think there was some misunderstanding between them before her illness.

Ralph continued working until the week before his final illness.

Before his illness this would have been a short stroll.

"Ah, but you should have seen him before his illness!"

He wanted to use the television production skills he had learned before his illness.