With rising healthcare costs on everyone’s mind, there is a push for consumers to be better informed about the economics of their health decisions. Is Mohs surgery more expensive than other skin cancer removal procedures? If you look at the fee, it can appear to be. However when you take a closer look at what’s involved, we assure you it’s not.
Financial Cost
Typical cancer removal processes require multiple appointments for surgical removal, pathology readings, follow-ups, and cosmetic repair. All those appointments cost you – not only in medical bills, but also transportation expenses and income missed from time off work. Plus, because those services are usually performed by several providers, you will need to add together multiple quotes to get to the real dollar amount. The Mohs surgery fee may seem high until you realize that everything is included in that one fee, and usually in one visit.
Additionally, the Mohs surgery has a low risk of recurrence, which reduces or eliminates the costs of future surgeries for recurrent skin cancers. Other skin cancer surgical techniques are more likely to require multiple surgeries before all the cancer is removed — each incurring its own expenses.
Time Cost
All skin cancer removal requires time for the surgery, pathological testing, and cosmetic repair. With Mohs these three services are all provided by the same surgical specialist in the same visit. With other types of cancer removal, you can spend hours scheduling appointments, sitting in waiting rooms, and filling out form after form at different providers. Depending on your transportation needs, you may have time driving to and from multiple appointments or you may be relying on someone else to drive you (which also consumes their time). Then there’s the time you are missing from work, family, and other activities — not to mention time trying to catch up afterward. How much is your time worth? Our highly trained Mohs surgeon, Dr. McGovern, takes care of everything in one visit, so you can get back to your life faster.
Human Cost
What is the price you’d pay for peace of mind? Mohs has the highest effectiveness for both basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, two of the most common types of skin cancers. Because a Mohs surgeon like Dr. McGovern is testing the tissue as it is removed, you are highly likely to get all cancerous tissue — and only the cancerous tissue — removed in one pass. Results confirm the strength of this skin cancer treatment: the Mohs procedure has a 99% success rate for eliminating skin cancers that have never been treated before.
What does that mean in human terms? Reduced stress, quicker recovery, and the confidence of knowing it’s all taken care of in one fee. With other treatments, the process can take weeks, and it’s more likely you will end up back for another round if the surgeon doesn’t get it all the first time. Such an emotional rollercoaster can be devastating to your psyche.
Physical Cost
Because Mohs surgery minimizes the amount of healthy tissue removed, the physical impacts are far less. Repair begins immediately, and patients report better aesthetic outcomes with less noticeable scarring.
What are you willing to pay for precision skin cancer removal with the cleanest margins, immediate pathology results, and superior cosmetic repair — all in the same visit, for one fee? The savings on your time, mental health, physical appearance, and emotional well-being cannot be underestimated.
As with any surgical procedure, it’s important to understand all of the facts before making a decision. The Mohs surgery is not for every type of skin cancer — for example, this procedure does not work well for Melanoma — but its benefits far exceed other skin cancer treatments in many common instances. If you are facing skin cancer, schedule an appointment to learn more about the effectiveness of the Mohs surgery in your situation.