Scripps Health offers free skin cancer exams to San Diego Lifeguards

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego Lifeguards from Del Mar to Oceanside can get a free skin cancer check at San Elijo State Beach on Monday.

It's a preventative measure to help those who protect our beaches, and it will be offered to lifeguards who work in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

Scripps Cancer Center and Scripps Clinic said it have been holding these free clinics for the last 25 years, and it's helped approximately 1,500 lifeguards.

Dr. Hubert Greenway, a dermatologic surgeon at Scripps Cancer Center, said lifeguards are at a higher risk for skin cancer because they're in the sun for most of the day.

Greenway also pointed out that not every lifeguard has health insurance because they work part-time.

Scripps Cancer Center and Scripps Clinic will do total body exams and screen lifeguards from head to toe. Doctors will be looking for early signs of three types of skin cancers, melanoma being the most dangerous.

That's when doctors spot an unusual skin mark, such as a black mole that can change shape and size.

In severe cases, melanoma can be fatal and not just found on the skin, which is why Greenway said early detection can be life-saving.

"I had a sister who had melanoma of the eye, and she had to have her eye taken out. Melanoma and some of the other aggressive tumors can spread to your liver, your lungs and essentially be the cause of your death if it spreads throughout your body," Greenway said.

Scripps also said that anyone wanting to get screened for skin cancer should call 211 to be referred to a health center.

The free examinations will be held at San Elijo State Beach lifeguard headquarters (2050 So. Coast Hwy. 101, Cardiff).