Barriers to Physician-Based Skin Examinations for Adolescent and Young Adult Survivors of Melanoma in the Project Forward Study

More than 7000 melanomas are diagnosed annually among US adolescents and young adults (AYAs, defined as 15-39 years old at diagnosis), resulting in a large constituency of AYA survivors. This population is understudied and at higher risk of subsequent melanomas compared with older populations. Because risk remains elevated beyond 2 decades after an initial melanoma, annual physician-based skin examinations (PSEs) are recommended. Thus, suboptimal PSE adherence is a concern among AYA melanoma survivors, and barriers to health care and/or PSE access need identification. We examined associations between barriers and lack of PSEs in a population-based sample of young melanoma survivors.