Hi guys, does anybody know of a place were I can get an affordable biopsy done? I have a mole behind my ear and a few days ago it started to hurt, now there is a black scab, I'm kind of freaked out as I am a red head and I work outside plus surf, does anybody know of an affordable place I can go get a biopsy ? I just lost my insurance for my family and I, and am in the process of starting a painting business and really need to purchase insurance , any input on that is greatly appreciated as well . Thanks

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Surfing Rots your Brain...

Of course seeing a dermatologist would be best. But, just brainstorming here, what about one of those walk-in clinics? They could probably order a biopsy. Good luck!

Someone just told me Brevard Health Alliance. Look them up. Let us know if that works.

Dr. Bradley Grant in Melbourne is an excellent dermatologist who is very fair about pricing, and might consider your circumstances when charging you.

Don't wait around, hope it's nothing but it sounds like you'd better get it checked pronto.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob2fuMc9Hyk

The Black salve pitch,,,, This stuff kills cancer and any abnormal tissue, will not react on norma/healthyl tissue. Plus is affordable.

Ive used it for years and removed many skin issues from my; lip, shoulder, arm, chest, ears, and mostly top of my thinning hair head.

This video is from a local Doctor that surfs and was very sceptical, check it out. It works!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG66RY6-D0g

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I've decided to accept the fact - I'll always be a big kid!

Va a Cubana!

Brevard Health Department. They see people sliding scale and will send you to a specialist. Ive been to both Brevard Health Alliance and BHD. I prefer BHD but both are similar. Dont wait to call though bc they are booked up but if you call for skin cancer type stuff they usually will get you in quickly. The specialist is covered under BHD sliding scale so it will not be a separate bill.

Look into getting insurance for this and the future. If it is serious you're not going to want price to be the factor in treatment.

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Replace turf grass with native plants that don't need irrigation and synthetic fertilizers or chemicals that can go into our waterways and ocean

Call the dermataologist you want to go and ask him how much if you pay cash.  You might be suprised how reasonably priced many of the doctors are when they dont have to deal with insurance paperwork and headaches.  

Google - Dermatologist Reviews "your city".  Read the reviews.  Look out for vuage glowing reviews.  They may be fake.  Look for specfics writen in the review to know if its real. 

I switched to a catastrophy type insurance 4 years ago.  I pay $110 a month.  Just me.  My deductable is $8000.  I pay 100% up to that deductable.  They pay 100% after that deductable.  I see whatever doctor I want when I want.  If I go over $8k then I will have to consider if I should see one of thier in group drs.  I have not spent more than $1300/yr so far.

MRI at the hospitol when insurance is paying =$5k

MRI at the imaging center = $250 cash.

Edited: 07/22/2014 at 07:10 PM by water

If you see a Dermatologist, they will be the best one to know if it does not need a biopsy and will send it to a Dermatopathologist to have it evaluated if it does. You will want to try to negotiate a price with the dermatologist but also the Pathologist. It will help to contact the pathologist beforehand if a biopsy is needed. The Dermatologist can help you in this regard. All the thread advice seems good except JBSURF's in my opinion. His quote on the bottom is likely accurate. No offense, but "Cure Alls" do not exist, especially for Melanoma. Of course you may have just traumatized an existing mole and nothing more. It shouldn't get too expensive unless it is an invasive melanoma or some other rare form of skin cancer. Local excision will get the common skin cancers out with high success rates. Use sunscreen particularly on your ears, nose, lips and other prominent areas of your face. The ears are often neglected and cancers near the opening of the ear can be difficult to cure but are pretty rare. This is a reminder to put sunscreen all over your ears. Wearing a Hat and Shades helps as well, hence my call name. I am using webbed gloves to protect my hands and they do help for paddling and don't hurt my arms or shoulder. Good Luck.

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"All my greatest Ideas were stolen by the Ancients" - Unknown Egyptian Scribe - 2500 B.C.

If you just lost insurance, the you are eligible to re-enroll.

https://www.healthcare.gov/

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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

Don't do the black salve. Im a big believer in a lot of natural medicines, however, cancer is a whole different story. There is a lot of quackery out there, and this is one of them. They are always easy to spot because they are always promoting a product. Black Salve is very corrosive to all cells. http://www.quackwatch.org/01Qu...ncer/eschar.html Here's a wikipedia page about the product promoted in the youtube video mentioned above, and how it's a scam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cansema If you do you something topically without a doctor, use frankincense oil, or castor oil. These are NOT an alternative to getting a biopsy, just could be helpful. Call around to different dermatologists. Let them know you dont have insurance and see how much they will biopsy it for. Shop around, just like anything else.

Edited: 07/24/2014 at 07:03 PM by TunnelVision

If you get on Obama care, it will only be about $1,200 a month for your family with a $6,500 deductible per year each to actually use the insurance. So, for the price of a new car each year, you can get Obamma care.

oh boy, here we go.

Please note that the above is the advertized price of the car and does not include

tax, title, destination charges, bla bla bla bla bla bla

 

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add a signature since I'm here in profile anyway

where did your figures come from?

Most docs will give you about a 50% discount if paying cash. All the ones I go to give a 40-50% discount.

Now that I said this, I'll need a specialist and he won't give a discount.

His ass most likely. My insurance as someone who buys it for himself being a  business owner, with 2 kids is $377/mo for a decent plan. $50 copays. Likely 5k deductible, but it seems like I never pay towards it during the year for the usual visits because I use doctors "in network" My kids usual pediatrician was on there.  My insurance has gotten more expensive over the last couple years, as every ones has, a little more so since obamacare (15%), but the coverage is better. No more riders for asthma and allergies for my son.  

Anyway, before this goes to the NSR hellhole, my biopsy and Mohs removal of basal cell off my forehead on the insurance statement was approx. 3 grand. My head would scab lightly and bleed after a shower. I put it off for a long time and they had to do the Mohs rather than burn it off or cream like for a couple other spots that were "pre cancer" on my face. I would definately check out that black juju cream mentioned. 

My feeling on the biopsy sometimes is it's a money maker for docs and labs but it's one of those things where its borderline between being scammed. Just gotta pay and be sure. They've got you by the balls on it. A dermo knows what they're looking at. Just be straight up and say $ is an issue. You may have an issue even getting into a dermo within 2 months notice if you've never seen them before. 

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If you have any doubt about your spot I would not trust a cream that is supposed to take care of everything. Skin cancer isn't something to mess around with. You need to know if the spot is serious because it can spread. It's probably nothing, but you will have the peace of mind of knowing that once you see the doc. As mentioned negotiate with cash. Worst case there might be a derm at the county health department that could help you, worth a try.

A few natural alternatives that might work are:
Apple Cider Vinegar. (daily on skin - put on small piece of cotton, then pit bandade over to hold the cotton in place on the relevant area) - do this for 5 weeks
Hydrogen peroxide - (std 3 pct) - not sure details about how often and length of treatment
Glycoalkaloids - an extract from plants in the Nightshade family such as eggplant. There are products out there that have this in a cream.
Below is an abstract of an article on the National Institute of Health regarding this alternative treatment
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3621146

I'm not suggesting that you don't go to a doctor however