Health
Breast Cancer Risk Drives Lifestyle Changes for Charlotte Maxwell Clinic Volunteer
I’m so blessed to have my breast doctor, Dr. Consorti. I can tell I’ve had three breast surgeries but nobody else can tell outside of me and my doctor.
![](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BREAST-CANCER-1.jpg)
Part II
I’m so blessed to have my breast doctor, Dr. Consorti. I can tell I’ve had three breast surgeries but nobody else can tell outside of me and my doctor.
When the test results came back at Stage 0, Dr. Consorti went in as if I had full on cancer and was like a plastic surgeon at the same time. She did a clean-around and took anything that looked abnormal out. She said “I don’t want you to go through what other women have gone through.”
Initially, I felt like I was cheating on my doctor for seeking second and third opinions about the surgery she did. I went to Stanford and to UCSF and they both said the same thing—that they would have let the abnormal cells progress to cancer then would have gone in and been super aggressive in treating it.
I find that’s really an awful way to handle cancer. I don’t care how young you are, you should have a higher chance of living and recovering from breast cancer if you catch it early. Again, I feel blessed my doctor did not wait and that’s why I’m an advocate for regular mammograms.
I’ve also done acupuncture, acupressure, massage—I recently came across a massage that works with my breasts through my homeopath. I believe in western medicine 100% but I think you should be able to do both. You need both to feel balanced, to have a sense of natural treatment. So, I see my acupuncturist regularly.
Changing your bra really helps with your breast health. I got rid of my underwire bra years ago.
I researched and learned there are cancerous ingredients in beauty products—whether it be for your hair, your face, your body. There are websites where you can look up the products and see what’s in them (e.g. EWG Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database]. I dumped basically all of my products, especially deodorant with a key ingredient [aluminum], and switched everything to organic.
So, I’ve completely changed my lifestyle, including my bras, beauty products, food, and deodorant. People say, “Oh you’re so bougie because you only go to places that are super expensive.”
I look back at the many conversations with my breast doctor who said. “I want you to be healthy enough to have a long life on this Earth with your son.” I only have one child and I feel that I had to change the way I eat and the things that I do so that I can be healthy for myself and those that I love and especially for my son.
For the past 30 years, Charlotte Maxwell Clinic (CMC), the Oakland-based nonprofit women’s clinic, has been supplementing Bay Area low-income women’s standard cancer care with complementary therapies, free of charge—including acupuncture, herbs, homeopathy, massage, guided imagery, movement, nutrition advice, and self-care education.
These services are made possible by a network of dedicated volunteers that include practitioners of holistic modalities, language interpreters, and drivers who use their own vehicles to transport clients to and from their CMC appointments. Michelle Meza has been a driver with CMC since 2017. Melbra Watts is CMC’s executive director.
The Oakland Post’s coverage of local news in Alameda County is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program created by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support community newspapers across California.
California Black Media
Gov. Newsom Announces He Backs a Ban on Cellphones in Schools
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to restrict the use of smartphones in K-12 schools statewide, he announced on Tuesday. The Governor stated his intentions amid warnings from President Joe Biden on the harmful impact of social media on children. The announcement followed a report released by the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy that calls on Congress to regulate social media platforms.
![Shutterstock.](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ban-cell-phones-in-schools-featured-web.jpg)
By California Black Media
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to restrict the use of smartphones in K-12 schools statewide, he announced on Tuesday.
The Governor stated his intentions amid warnings from President Joe Biden on the harmful impact of social media on children. The announcement followed a report released by the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy that calls on Congress to regulate social media platforms.
Proposed regulations include warning labels on harmful content that may hurt minors active on social media. The Governor stated that he plans to sign a law that authorizes school districts to limit or ban the use of smartphones by students or require the supervision of a school employee.
“As the Surgeon General affirmed, social media is harming the mental health of our youth. Building on legislation I signed in 2019, I look forward to working with the Legislature to restrict the use of smartphones during the school day,” said Newsom.
“When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies — not their screens,” he said.
In 2022, Newsom authored a letter urging companies in the tech industry to drop a lawsuit against the children’s online safety law he signed that same year. Newsom aims to take online safety laws a step further allowing school districts to ban or limit the use of smartphones to help protect children from the harmful effects of social media.
The California School Boards Association argues that any rules on the use of smartphones should be regulated by school districts as opposed to the state.
Troy Flint, the school board association’s spokesperson, said that school districts should make the final decision on regulations over smartphones.
“We support legislation which empowers school leaders to make policy decisions at a local level that reflect their community’s concerns and what’s necessary to support their students,” said Flint.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) supports Gov. Newsom’s plan to ban smartphones during school hours, stating that smartphones and devices distract students from learning and facilitate cyberbullying.
On June 18, LAUSD voted to ban the use of cellphones during the school day.
In a similar light, Sen. Henry Stern (D-Malibu) proposed SB 1283 earlier this year. If passed, the legislation will give school districts more authority to limit the use of social media at school. SB 1283 is currently under review in the Assembly Education Committee.
“It’s just too hard for every teacher, every school, or every parent to have to figure this out on their own,” said Stern. “There are sometimes when government just has to step in and make some bigger rules of the road.”
A similar bill, AB 3216, introduced by Assemblymembers Josh Hoover (R-Folsom), Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) and Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates), is being considered by the Senate Education Committee.
The bills would take effect in January if passed by the Legislature and is approved by the Board of Education in school districts that support the cellphone ban.
Community
Gov. Newsom: California Is Making Progress in Fentanyl Fight
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that state law enforcement authorities seized 5.8 million pills containing fentanyl across the state since the beginning of the year. The California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force partnered with local and federal law enforcement to seize illegal fentanyl off the streets and at ports of entry along the Southern border, according to Newsom.
![iStock](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/fentanyl-featured-web.jpg)
By California Black Media
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that state law enforcement authorities seized 5.8 million pills containing fentanyl across the state since the beginning of the year.
The California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force partnered with local and federal law enforcement to seize illegal fentanyl off the streets and at ports of entry along the Southern border, according to Newsom.
Two weeks ago, the State Senate passed the bipartisan Safer California Plan to address the fentanyl crisis and reduce crime in communities statewide.
Senate President pro-Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) has coauthored 15 bills focusing on crime prevention in local communities. Ten of the bills focus on evidence-based prevention and treatment solutions that address substance abuse and the fentanyl crisis.
Pro Tem McGuire said the bills, “will help curb the deadly fentanyl epidemic,” and reduce community-based crimes that impact people across the state.
CalGuard Major General Matthew Beevers worked alongside law enforcement partners to tackle the fentanyl crisis in the state.
“The volume of seizures we’re enabling and supporting demonstrates our commitment to denying operating capital to drug cartels and making California safer,” said Beevers.
Before the Senate’s package of bills passed, Gov. Newsom compiled a master plan designed to tackle the growing fentanyl and opioid crisis in California. The master plan provided a framework that addresses drug trafficking, supports overdose prevention efforts, and holds the pharmaceutical industry accountable.
“Illegal fentanyl has no place in our neighborhoods. California is tackling this problem head-on by holding drug traffickers accountable and increasing seizures, while at the same time expanding access to substance abuse treatment options and providing lifesaving, affordable reversal medicine to Californians statewide,” said Newsom.
The Newsom administration has also launched an online resource and tools for residents seeking help with prevention and treatment methods for fentanyl and opioid-related substance abuse at Opioids.Ca. Gov
Activism
Community Celebrates Historic Oakland Billboard Agreements
We, the Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition, which includes Oakland’s six leading community health clinics, all ethnic chambers of commerce, and top community-based economic development organizations – celebrate the historic billboard agreements approved last year by the Oakland City Council. We have fought for this opportunity against the billboard monopoly, against Clear Channel, for five years. The agreements approved by Council set the bar for community benefits – nearly $70 Million over their lifetime, more than 23 times the total paid by all previous Clear Channel relocation agreements in Oakland combined.
![The Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition.](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/economic-development-corporation-featured-web.jpg)
Grand Jury Report Incorrect – Council & Community Benefit
We, the Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition, which includes Oakland’s six leading community health clinics, all ethnic chambers of commerce, and top community-based economic development organizations – celebrate the historic billboard agreements approved last year by the Oakland City Council. We have fought for this opportunity against the billboard monopoly, against Clear Channel, for five years. The agreements approved by Council set the bar for community benefits – nearly $70 Million over their lifetime, more than 23 times the total paid by all previous Clear Channel relocation agreements in Oakland combined.
Unfortunately, a recent flawed Grand Jury report got it wrong, so we feel compelled to correct the record:
- Regarding the claim that the decision was made hastily, the report itself belies that claim. The process was five years in the making, with two and a half years from the first City Council hearing to the final vote. Along the way, as the report describes, there were multiple Planning Commission hearings, public stakeholder outreach meetings, a Council Committee meeting, and then a vote by the full Council. Not only was this not hasty, it had far more scrutiny than any of the previous relocation agreements approved by the City with Clear Channel, all of which provide 1/23 of the benefits of the Becker/OFI agreements approved by the Council.
- More importantly, the agreements will actually bring millions to the City and community, nearly $70M to be exact, 23 times the previous Clear Channel relocation agreements combined. They certainly will not cost the city money, especially since nothing would have been on the table at all if our Coalition had not been fighting for it. Right before the decisive City Council Committee hearing, in the final weeks before the full Council vote, there was a hastily submitted last-minute “proposal” by Clear Channel that was debunked as based on non-legal and non-economically viable sites, and relying entirely on the endorsement of a consultant that boasts Clear Channel as their biggest client and whose decisions map to Clear Channel’s monopolistic interests all over the country. Some City staff believed these unrealistic numbers based on false premises, and, since they only interviewed City staff, the Grand Jury report reiterated this misinformation, but it was just part of Clear Channel’s tried and true monopolistic practices of seeking to derail agreements that actually set the new standard for billboard community benefits. Furthermore, our proposals are not mutually exclusive – if Clear Channel’s proposal was real, why had they not brought it forward previously? Why have they not brought it forward since? Because it was not a real proposal – it was nothing but smoke and mirrors, as the Clear Channel’s former Vice President stated publicly at Council.
Speaking on behalf of the community health clinics that are the primary beneficiaries of the billboard funding, La Clinica de la Raza CEO Jane Garcia, states: “In this case, the City Council did the right thing – listening to the community that fought for five years to create this opportunity that is offering the City and community more than twenty times what previous billboard relocation agreements have offered.”
Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition
Native American Health Center | La Clínica de la Raza | West Oakland Health Center |
Asian Health Services | Oakland LGBTQ Center | Roots Community Health Center |
The Unity Council | Black Cultural Zone | Visit Oakland |
Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce | Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce | Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce |
Oakland Latino Chamber of Commerce | Building Trades of Alameda County | (partial list) |
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