Scripps doctor brings awareness to skin cancer prevention

Greenway shares tips for Skin Cancer Awareness Month

By Kaila Mellos

REGION

— As doctors report an uptick in advanced-stage melanoma diagnoses, Dr. Hugh Greenway, a dermatologic surgeon with Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center, is ramping up his message of prevention and treatment for Skin Cancer Awareness Month this May.

Since COVID-19, many patients later diagnosed with advanced-stage melanoma, the most serious of skin cancers, weren’t conducting frequent check-ups with healthcare providers.

“We have had a number of patients who just didn’t go see their doctor and thus didn’t get checked early, so we’re seeing a rebound and an increased incidence of melanoma in many patients,” Greenway said. “Unfortunately, this means there was also an increase in the melanomas that perhaps are a little more advanced because the patient couldn't be seen for a couple of years for various reasons, including COVID-19. If you’re going to live here in San Diego, I tell all our people that you need to have your skin checked at least once a year, either by your dermatologist or your family physician.”

When getting accessed, Greenway and his team of dermatologists look for the three types of skin cancers in patients when they come into the office.

“There are three main types of skin cancer: basal

County releases $8B budget proposal focused on equity

By City News Service

REGION — San Diego

County released an $8.11 billion proposed 2023-24 budget on May 4 with major investments in the realms of homelessness, mental health and substance use disorder, improving the justice system and investing in core services such as roads, fire protection and parks.

The “Invested in Community” budget is $745.8 million larger than last year’s budget, a 10.1% increase. It also adds around 490 new positions, a 2.5% increase over last year, county officials said.

According to the proposal, the increase in both budget and staff will go toward supporting “new and expanded social service programs and increasing caseloads to assist vulnerable populations.” It also has investments in infrastructure, such as a new Public Health Lab and affordable housing projects, according to the county.

“Much of the revenue to administer many of these programs comes from the state and federal government,” according to a county statement. “It also comes from an increase in local property taxes. While this revenue supports the programs in the coming fiscal year, current economic uncertainty may impact future years.”

According to the county, the 2024 budget proposal also has an equity tool factored in, intended to make sure historically vulnerable or underserved communities get their fair share of county dollars.

The public can view an executive summary at www.sandiegocounty.gov/ content/dam/sdc/openbudget/openbudget-2023-24/ budget-23- 24-docs/ budgetExecutiveSummary_2023-24_English.pdf or the full recommended plan at www.sandiegocounty. gov/content/dam/sdc/auditor/pdf/caoplan_23-25.pdf.

Members of the public can provide feedback on the proposed spending plan in

DR. HUGH GREENWAY

cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma," Greenway said.

Melanoma, the biggest threat to patients' lives, is closely looked for when getting an exam.

“We pay significant attention to it because melanoma's the type of skin cancer that can spread and metas- tasize and can lead to killing people,” Greenway said. “However, if you catch it early, we can easily cure it with surgical excision. We have somewhere between 7,500 to 8,000 people who die of melanoma each year, but we’re doing better in terms of our cure rates and things for advanced melanoma.”

Several reasons, including genetics, prolonged sun exposure and a history of sunburns, can cause melanoma. Greenway and his office of 25 other dermatologists see around three to four new melanoma cases each week.

When it comes to a treatment plan, catching melanoma in an early stage makes it easier to cure. But if it is further along, immunotherapies are used to combat cancer.

“The mainstay for treatment of melanoma is to re- move it surgically, and we do that in my clinic in Scripps. We do a Mohs surgery on some melanomas and a wide excision on others, depending on the case,” Greenway said. “If they’re a little more advanced, then the patient may have their lymph node removed. If the melanoma has spread beyond that, perhaps to the liver, brain, or other organs, we’re much better today in treating advanced melanoma patients with immunotherapies.”

Even with treatment, there is a chance that melanoma may come back in the patient's lifetime at about a 10% chance once it is removed.

“Now, one out of ten is a fairly low risk, but it’s much higher than that of somebody in the average population who’s never had a melanoma,” Greenway said.

“So, if you’ve had a melanoma, we want you to be seen more often. We usually say three months for every three years, then six months for a couple of years, but after that, at least once a year to be checked.” person or online. Two community budget meetings are scheduled, one at 2 p.m. May 16 at the County Operations Center, which can be attended in person or online. The second evening meeting will be virtual at 5:30 p.m. May 18.

According to Greenway, there are numerous steps for prevention to avoid getting any of the three types of skin cancer.

“We understand, as doctors, you’re going to be out in the sun. But you need to avoid getting sunburnt, which falls into the area of needing to wear sunscreen,” Greenway said. “You need sunscreen on the exposed skin of at least a UV 30.” Greenway also recommends scheduling activities when the sun is not at its highest point, either in the morning, later afternoon or night. and wearing a hat.

Residents can also provide eComments on the recommended budget through June 21 on the county's community engagement budget page at Engage San Diego County, https://engage.sandiegocounty.gov/ budget.

A budget presentation will be made to the county Board of Supervisors on May 11. Public hearings are set for 9 a.m. June 12 and 5:30 p.m. June 15. Budget deliberations and adoption are scheduled for June 27.

Some highlights of the budget include:

• $18.3 million for implementation of the CARE Act, a state program for people with serious behavioral health issues that may provide services, shelter and treatment through a civil court proceeding;

• $25 million increase for the Innovative Housing Trust Fund to help build affordable housing;

• $2.7 million to restore land and improve water quality in the Tijuana River Valley;

• $12.8 million for court programs to “support those with mental health, substance use and other needs,'' such as Collaborative Courts, Drug Courts, Mandatory Supervision Courts, Reentry Courts, Veterans Courts and Behavioral Health Courts;

• $141.1 million increase for safety net program benefit payments, higher wages for In-Home Supportive Services caregivers, additional employment services and training for CalWORKS and CalFresh recipients and expanding Info Line 211 Access;

• $17 million to build a Jacumba Fire Station; and

• $35.6 million to build a Santee Animal Shelter.

Police shoot armed man near church

By City News Service enact the ban.

VISTA — A sheriff’s deputy shot and wounded an armed man threatening suicide on May 7 outside of a Vista church.

Around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a disturbance at Iglesia Ni Cristo Church of Christ at 1418 Calle Jules, near East Bobier Drive, officials said.

Deputies saw the man, described as a 77-year-old Asian, leaving the church and going into the parking lot, holding a gun in his right hand. Witnesses said he had been holding the gun to his head inside the church. Deputies ordered him to drop the weapon, the sheriff's department claimed.

Around two dozen members of the public spoke in support of expanding the state’s ban on single-use plastic bags to include a ban on Styrofoam sales. Several of those speakers were local students ranging from elementary school to college-aged grades.

Students from Ann Zivotsky’s fifth grade class at Del Rio Elementary explained some of the lessons they have recently learned about the effects single-use plastics have on marine life.

According to a study from Washington University, Styrofoam takes approximately 500 years to decompose, which means any Styrofoam that exists now is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Styrofoam is rarely recycled as many processors are unable to recycle the material.

Peyton Wilson, a high school student at Surfside Academy, said more than 1,000 tons of Styrofoam is dumped into landfills in the United States every day.

She also noted that

53% of beach litter consists of plastics with Styrofoam taking up 17% of litter.

Fellow Surfside Academy junior Eva Nell Brown pointed out that the chemical used in the production process of Styrofoam, along with the methane it creates while sitting in the landfill, hurts the Earth’s ozone layer, which protects a negative impact on the beach and interrupts my peace.”

Both students and professors from MiraCosta College also spoke in support of the polystyrene foam ban.

MiraCosta Marine Biology Professor Jeanine Sepulveda noted that there is more than meets the eye to the damage that polystyrene foam leaves on the environment. She explained that the plastics end up in the food supply leading all the way to humans.

“It’s a food security issue,” Sepulveda said. “Those chemicals end up leeching into seafood.” the Earth’s surface from ultraviolet and other harmful rays.

When he refused, a three-year veteran of the department fired a shot, hitting him in the legs, prompting him to drop the weapon.

The man, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to a hospital for treatment. His wounds were not life-threatening, per the department.

Under a new protocol agreement between the sheriff’s and police departments, police investigators will take over the shooting investigation.

“I go to the beach very often to feel one with nature, but when I see plastic trash everywhere and I see people walking away from it, it makes me feel disgusted,” Brown said. “It leaves

As staff moves forward with working on an official plan to ban Styrofoam, council members cautioned the need to ensure businesses have enough time to adjust to the new law, including thorough outreach, education and enforcement strategies.

Currently, large Styrofoam blocks used for packaging and insulation are recyclable, but plastic foam cups, plates and to-go containers should go in the trash.

It was not immediately known if there were any congregants in the church at the time of the shooting, nor whether the gunman was a member of the church.

Anyone with information on this shooting was asked to call the SDPD at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888580-8477.

For up-to-the-minute arrest reports in North County, visit Daily Arrest Logs at www.thecoastnews.com/daily-arrestlogs-in-north-county-sandiego/