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51% Show #1245

Spring is here and if you live in the Northeast and Midwest, it means the ticks are back – and so is the 

  threat of Lyme Disease. According to the Center for Disease Control, Lyme disease is the most common vectorborne disease reported in the US. But most cases are from just 13 states.

Modern science has given us a vaccine to protect against Lyme disease, but we don't use it. Reporter Curt Nickish explains.

Two Norwegian researchers published a report in 2011 linking chronic fatigue syndrome with overactive B-cells, which play a role in immunity. It's an important break in dealing with an illness that many doctors have been slow in acknowledging. Often, people suffering from chronic fatigue are told their problems are all in their head.

Producer Briana O'Higgins created these narrative of three women battling chronic fatigue.

New cancer studies are recognizing common elements in diverse cancers – and researchers are looking into whether treatment needs to focus on those common elements – instead of simply where the cancer manifests. The hope is that someday cancer will be a survivable, chronic illness – like diabetes or AIDS. But the experience of cancer is very different depending which country you live in.  There are some things about breast cancer that are universal. There's the initial fear and the sense that your body has turned against you. After that, experiences diverge.  Reporter Joanne Silberner of Seattle, Washington, had one experience.  A woman in Uganda, where there are few treatment options and the disease carries a stigma, had a very different one.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Katie Britton for production assistance.  Our theme music is by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio.  Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock.

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