A skin cancer screening takes 10 minutes and is covered by most insurance. Skipping it lets problems grow silently. The difference between a minor outpatient procedure and major cancer treatment often comes down to whether someone caught it early.
Done in seconds. No sign-up required.
The numbers make the case on their own.
average cost of a skin cancer screening visit without insurance
JAMA Dermatology, 2021
first-year treatment cost for late-stage melanoma
American Cancer Society
five-year survival rate for localized melanoma vs. distant-stage melanoma
SEER Cancer Statistics, NCI
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. One in five Americans will develop some form of it by age 70 (Skin Cancer Foundation). The good news: most skin cancers are highly treatable when caught early. The bad news: they're silent. You won't feel symptoms until the cancer has progressed.
Early-stage melanoma removal is a minor outpatient procedure. Your dermatologist removes the lesion with local anesthesia, and most patients go home the same day. Recovery takes a week or two.
Late-stage melanoma is a different situation entirely. Once it spreads to lymph nodes or other organs, treatment involves surgery, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or radiation. Hospital stays, ongoing infusions, and frequent monitoring become the norm. The financial cost is significant, but the personal cost is harder to quantify.
Under the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans cover an annual preventive skin screening at no additional cost to you. You've already paid for it through your premiums. Skipping the screening means leaving a covered benefit unused.
Even without insurance, a skin check costs $100 to $200. That's less than a single session of the treatment you're trying to avoid. The American Academy of Dermatology also offers free screening events during Skin Cancer Awareness Month each May.
Nobody skips their skin check on purpose. They forget, they postpone, and another year goes by. The screening itself takes 10 minutes. The hard part is remembering to book it.
Set a dermatologist check reminder for the month your next visit is due. You'll get an email before the date, with follow-ups if you haven't acted on it. A 30-second reminder setup could be the difference between catching something early and catching it late.
Most insurance plans cover an annual preventive screening at no cost. Without insurance, a skin check typically costs $100 to $200 depending on the practice and location.
Treatment costs for late-stage melanoma can exceed $150,000 in the first year. That includes surgery, immunotherapy, radiation, and follow-up care. Early-stage removal is an outpatient procedure that costs a fraction of that.
The five-year survival rate for localized melanoma (caught before it spreads) is 99%. Once melanoma spreads to distant organs, the five-year survival rate drops to about 35%, according to the American Cancer Society.
Only about 15% of U.S. adults report getting a routine skin cancer screening in the past year, according to a 2023 survey published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
With insurance, a skin biopsy copay is typically $20 to $75. Without insurance, the cost ranges from $150 to $500 depending on the type of biopsy. Early biopsies that catch cancer before it spreads are far cheaper than the treatment they prevent.
Set a free reminder for your next skin check. Most insurance covers the screening at no cost. Don't leave it unused.
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