May 3, 2022

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May is National Skin Cancer and Melanoma Awareness Month. With early detection, skin cancer is easily curable. For older adults, Melanoma detection and early prevention is essential to combating the cancer from growing. Continue reading to learn all about the early signs and how to safely protect your skin in the future, including Medicare coverage options for cancer treatments:

Did you know? Skin cancer is the most common form of all cancer types found.

Melanoma is most commonly found in men over the age of 50, while women have a higher risk before the age of 49. Age is not a definite risk in being diagnosed with Melanoma, however, understanding when you are most at risk will help you emphasize the importance of taking care of your skin.

While constant exposure to the sun without durable protection is the leading cause of skin cancer, certain man-made objects can give off UV rays that contribute to skin cancer as well. Sunlamps, tanning beds, and black light lamps all give off enough UV rays to cause damage to your skin. We encourage you to do your own research about objects that could be harmful to your skin and the max time that you should spend in proximity to these harmful rays.

With certain Medicare plans, various types of cancer treatments are covered.

  • Through Medicare Part A, you have hospital insurance and with this covers any cancer treatments you receive while you are an inpatient. IE: blood work, rehabilitation services, as well as reconstructive surgeries depending on the type of cancer you might have.
  • Medicare Part B will cover your outpatient needs. Those might include certain chemotherapy treatments, diagnostic tests, medical equipment, and outpatient surgeries.

NOTE:

Aside from being responsible for approximately 20% of the costs associated with the treatments listed above, your doctor may recommend additional services that Medicare doesn’t cover at all. You’d be responsible for ALL of those costs, if that were to happen. This is in addition to time, travel, housing that may also incur as a result of this.

Be sure to ask questions so you understand why your doctor is recommending certain services and if, or how much, Medicare will pay for them. Your SBS agent is also able to suggest additional coverage options to fill in the gaps where needed.

To wrap up, we would like to do a quick plug for sunscreen awareness, which also takes place this month. This is most fitting as sunscreen is your best protection against the sun! A sun block of 30 spf will go a long way in ensuring that your skin isn’t damaged when spending time outside.

Sources:

https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11931-Cancer-Treatment-Services.pdf

https://ioraprimarycare.com/blog/skin-cancer-older-adults/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5614327/

https://www.medicare.gov/search/medicare?keys=Melanoma


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