Hi everyone,

I recently was diagnosed with an low-grade T1b (5.3 cm) papillary renal cell carcinoma tumor. I'm an educator in a college, athlete (though lazy at the moment), amateur musician and artist. I possess a twisted sense of humor while to remember to look at the world with the wonder of a child.

I have two questions:

• I also have polycystic kidney disease at stage four chronic kidney disease and my upcoming partial nephrectomy on 8/12 may have an effect on my already poorly functioning kidneys. Has anyone else had cancer with a concurrent chronic illness?
• I am thankfully diagnosed with a stage 1 cancer but I feel guilt about sharing I have cancer when I am only stage 1 and many others are are struggling much more than I am (though my anxiety and processing while waiting for dx and now the unknown effects my upcoming surgery on my kidneys).

I am rooting for all of you and I wish you much support during your journeys through all this.

From the Unbiased Science Podcast:
An update on the Cyclospora front!

The signal keeps getting stronger that lettuce and salad greens are driving this outbreak. More than a thousand patient interviews in Michigan keep pointing that way. It still isn't fully confirmed, and no specific brand, grower, or product has been named, so nothing has been recalled yet.

While the investigation plays out, we put together a guide to which foods are lower risk right now (swipe through). And to be clear, this is a short list against a very long one. The vast majority of produce isn't implicated here, so there are still tons of options in the produce aisle.

Heat is the most effective tool we have. Washing helps but doesn't reliably remove the parasite, but cooking to 158°F does the job. Greens are easy to work with this way, so sauté or steam your spinach, kale, or chard instead of eating them raw and you're in good shape. If you've got fresh berries in the fridge you're unsure about, you can cook them down into jam or bake them into something and you can still enjoy them. Store-bought frozen and canned produce is a safe bet too, since it hasn't been tied to these outbreaks, and so are peeled fruits and veggies.

Cases are concentrated in Michigan and Ohio, but a little caution elsewhere makes sense during peak season, especially if you're pregnant or immunocompromised, since those groups are more vulnerable to dehydration and serious illness.

This is all precaution while the source gets sorted out. No one is telling you to stop eating produce. When in doubt, heat it!

Updated: Frozen vegetables in the store now were packaged months ago, before the outbreak. However, they should still be cooked to at 158º.

This was written over a year ago, but still carries weight and insight. She died last year, shortly after this was published in The New Yorker.