All too often, with the diagnosis, most characters become ineffectual and non-productive. Soaps have a unique canvas on which to tell the stories. Instead of just a two hour timeslot, soaps have 12-13 week story arcs and five days a week to tell the story. They can, should, for the most part do, delve into the layers of a storyline. Maybe I should say, for the most part they HAVE in the past made these characters more dimentional.
Soaps are about the human condition and overcoming obstacles.
Bringing in some RL experiences and issues is ideal for soaps, balanced with entertainment. I realize I take a risk in isolating just one element from your posting, Rosebud, but I agree that serious and chronic illnesses are very much the province of soaps. People after all live with such illnesses and diseases as you mention in real life, and it would be good to see soap characters with such conditions leading happy and productive lives. Looking around Llanview, so many current characters already suffer, or have suffered serious, chronic or life-threatening illness or trauma, but they never seem to be handled with the kind of depth and seriousness as one might reasonably look for. It's a missed opportunity.