General Health Check-Up in Northern Cyprus

A framework shared by international and local expert bodies:

• Under 30: Routine check-ups are not generally recommended. In this age group, screening is undertaken — with selected tests — only when there is a family history, sedentary lifestyle, obesity or occupational risk (night shifts, chemical exposure). A full panel in an asymptomatic young adult offers limited yield.
• Age 30 baseline: The silent starting age of lifestyle-related diseases. An annual basic panel (full blood count, biochemistry, lipid profile, thyroid, urinalysis) is reasonable from this age.
• Age 40 — a comprehensive turning point: Cardiovascular risk, diabetes, prostate and breast screening, and abdominal imaging become important from this age. A comprehensive check-up is the standard recommendation after 40.
• Age 50 and over — annual is essential: Colorectal cancer screening, mammography in women, PSA in men, cardiac assessment and bone density measurement all enter the annual programme from this point.

Frequency varies with your risk profile: an annual check-up is generally sufficient for a low-risk adult; patients being monitored for hypertension, diabetes, thyroid disease or cardiovascular risk require more frequent reviews at intervals advised by their doctor. The idea of "a comprehensive check-up every six months" is a commercial message — it has no clinical justification for most healthy adults.

The clinical value of what appear to be simple screening panels lies in the numbers:

• Blood pressure: Hypertension typically begins silently in the forties. Measuring it once a year meaningfully improves the ability to predict stroke and heart failure risk.
• Fasting glucose and HbA1c: Type 2 diabetes progresses undiagnosed for an average of five to seven years. Identifying the pre-diabetic stage can prevent progression to full diabetes through lifestyle intervention.
• LDL cholesterol and triglycerides: Key markers of cardiovascular risk. Elevated values caught early enable treatment that reduces the likelihood of a cardiovascular event over the years ahead.
• TSH (thyroid): Fatigue, weight change, hair loss and reproductive difficulties frequently have a thyroid cause. A single blood test rules out the vast majority.
• Vitamin D and B12: Deficiency is common — even in Northern Cyprus with its sunny climate. Monitoring these is a low-cost, high-value part of the panel for neurological symptoms, fatigue and bone health.
• Urinalysis and creatinine: Silent markers of early kidney disease. A simple and important screen to prevent progression to late-stage chronic kidney failure.

Nis Clinic's check-up philosophy is not "run every possible test". It is to select the panel that matches your age, sex and risk profile, interpret findings with a doctor, and refer for further investigation when required. Unnecessary tests drain both budget and morale.

The Basic package is designed as an annual routine check for healthy adults aged 30 and over. It covers the core panel needed by a patient with no complaints and no significant additional risk factors.

Included:

• Full blood count (FBC) — baseline assessment of anaemia, infection and blood cells
• Biochemistry panel — liver function (AST, ALT, GGT), kidney function (urea, creatinine, eGFR), fasting glucose and HbA1c, uric acid
• Lipid profile — total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides
• Thyroid panel — TSH (fT3, fT4 if indicated)
• Vitamin panel — Vitamin D, B12
• Urinalysis — urinary tract infection, renal and urinary tract screening
• Blood pressure, height, weight and body mass index (BMI) measurement
• Internal medicine consultation — history, examination and results discussion

Duration: 1–2 hours at the clinic. Results available the same day or by the next working day at the latest. Best suited to: adults aged 30–40 with no additional risk factors seeking an annual routine check.

The Comprehensive package covers everything in the Basic package and adds advanced assessments specific to age and sex. It is the recommended level for the standard annual check-up after the age of 40.

In addition to the Basic package:

• Cardiac assessment — ECG, echocardiography; stress test option depending on indication
• Chest X-ray — lung and cardiac silhouette screening
• Abdominal ultrasound (USS) — liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, spleen and bladder assessment
• For female patients: gynaecology specialist examination, cervical smear (Pap test), breast ultrasound (under 40) or mammography (over 40)
• For male patients: PSA (prostate-specific antigen), urology specialist examination
• B12, Vitamin D + folic acid, ferritin — comprehensive deficiency screening
• Additional biochemistry — CRP (inflammation), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), iron panel
• Results assessment consultation — combined report from internal medicine and the relevant specialist(s)

Duration: Half a day, 3–4 hours at the clinic. Imaging and examinations are scheduled for the same day. Best suited to: adults aged 40 and over; those with a family history of cardiovascular disease or cancer; patients who smoke, drink alcohol regularly or lead a sedentary lifestyle.

The Premium package serves two groups: medical tourism patients requiring pre-operative assessment before an aesthetic or plastic surgery procedure, and adults aged 50 and over seeking an advanced comprehensive review.

In addition to the Comprehensive package:

• Cardiac risk profile — high-sensitivity CRP, homocysteine, lipoprotein(a); critical parameters for anaesthetic safety in surgical candidates
• Coagulation panel — PT, aPTT, INR; essential for patients on anticoagulants and surgical candidates
• Blood group and Rhesus factor — standard for pre-operative assessment
• Hepatitis and HIV screening panel — HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV; international standard before surgery
• Tumour markers (selected): determined by age, family history and sex — CEA (colorectal), CA 15-3 (breast), CA 125 (ovarian), CA 19-9 (pancreatic), AFP (hepatic). Not every marker is tested in every patient; indication is determined at consultation.
• Genetic screening option — BRCA1/2 (if there is a family history of early-onset breast or ovarian cancer) or a cardiovascular genetic panel; this is optional, priced separately, and carried out with specialist counselling
• Pre-anaesthetic assessment — anaesthesia consultation included for medical tourism patients proceeding to surgery
• Written report in Turkish and English — in a format that international patients can share with their own doctor at home

Duration: 4–6 hours; may be spread over two days, particularly when imaging and consultations are combined. Best suited to: medical tourism patients planning plastic surgery (abdominoplasty, BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift), breast aesthetics, hair transplant); adults over 50 seeking a comprehensive review; patients concerned about a family history of cancer.

All three packages are confirmed at a definitive price following consultation. Price ranges vary with the tests selected and the scope of imaging. If you have requests for individual tests or imaging outside the packages, we can price and plan these separately as well.

• Ages 18–30: Routine check-up not recommended. If there is no active complaint, family history (early cardiovascular death, early-onset cancer, familial hypercholesterolaemia) or occupational risk, a simple annual examination is sufficient. Selling a comprehensive package to this age group is not medically justified in terms of test burden and cost.
• Ages 30–40: Basic package, once a year. This is the silent onset period for lifestyle diseases; blood and urine-based screening delivers the greatest value at this age.
• Ages 40–50: Comprehensive package recommended. Cardiovascular risk, diabetes, breast and gynaecological screening in women, and prostate screening in men all become annual priorities from this age.
• Age 50 and over: Comprehensive or Premium, annually. Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy) begins at this age; colonoscopy is not included in the Nis Clinic check-up panel, but when indicated, we refer patients to gastroenterology centres in Northern Cyprus.

Age is not the only factor. The following situations call for earlier or more thorough assessment:

• Family history: First-degree relative (parent or sibling) with cardiovascular disease under 55, early-onset (under 45) breast, ovarian or colorectal cancer, Type 2 diabetes or early-onset thyroid disease — this history brings your screening age forward by five to ten years.
• Smoking: Additional assessment is needed for cardiovascular and pulmonary screening. A chest X-ray is standard for active smokers; those with a heavy smoking history (20 pack-years or more) aged 50–80 are referred for low-dose CT lung cancer screening.
• Regular daily alcohol use: Liver function tests, pancreatic assessment and abdominal ultrasound become priorities.
• Sedentary lifestyle: Sitting for more than ten hours per day, fewer than 150 minutes of physical activity per week — metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk screening become important.
• Weight: In patients with a BMI of 30 or above, diabetes, hepatic steatosis (fatty liver), sleep apnoea and joint assessments move to the foreground.
• Chronic stress, depression or sleep disorders: Thyroid, B12, Vitamin D and cardiovascular risk assessments offer high value in this group.
• Medical tourism patients: In patients planning plastic surgery, pre-operative assessment is not a comfort measure — it is a requirement for anaesthetic safety. The Premium package is recommended for this group.

"I am 18, my mother had breast cancer at 40 — should I have a check-up?" Yes, but not with a standard check-up package. That calls for genetic counselling and targeted screening. In cases like this we carry out an individual assessment at consultation and build the appropriate plan together.

The most tiring aspect of a check-up experience is having tests split across different locations — blood at the laboratory, ultrasound at an imaging centre, the consultation at a separate clinic, and then the task of collecting the results.

At Nis Clinic, the majority of the Basic and Comprehensive packages are completed in a single visit at our Nicosia centre. Blood draw, urinalysis, ECG, ultrasound and internal medicine consultation all take place in the same building. Where the Comprehensive package requires advanced imaging — such as mammography, a stress test or colonoscopy — we arrange a same-day referral to our partner imaging centre; you do not need to chase appointments yourself.

We are not a full hospital, and we say so honestly: not every test is performed on our premises. What we cannot do in-house, we plan so that you can complete as quickly and conveniently as possible. The aim is not to spread a one-day package across three days — it is to compress a three-day package into one.

A large proportion of our medical tourism patients come specifically for pre-operative assessment before an aesthetic or plastic surgery procedure. A check-up before abdominoplasty, BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift), breast aesthetics or facelift planned with Op. Dr. İbrahim Meyzin is an essential step for anaesthetic safety.

This is where Nis Clinic's integrated structure is an advantage: pre-operative assessment and surgical procedure are planned within the same clinical ecosystem. Test results are passed directly to the surgical team, the anaesthesia consultation is completed ahead of the operation date, and within medical tourism packages the transfer and accommodation plan is built around the pre-op, procedure and post-op timeline together.

The report is prepared in both Turkish and English. International patients can share it with their GP or follow-up surgeon at home. WhatsApp-based report follow-up and a next-review recommendation are part of our standard process. If you are planning an aesthetic procedure but have not yet had a pre-operative check-up, we recommend a Premium package assessment before your operation date is finalised.

Check-up prices in Northern Cyprus span a wide range. Some centres market packages promising "300 tests all-inclusive"; in most patients, a significant proportion of those tests have no clinical justification. This inflates cost and creates a risk of false-positive findings — an incidental value with no clinical significance that sends the patient into an unnecessary cycle of anxiety.

Nis Clinic pricing policy is written down:

Prices vary with the tests selected, the scope of imaging and optional additions (genetic screening, advanced tumour markers, colonoscopy referral). The exact figure is shared in writing after the consultation; no surgical commitment or other obligation arises.

TRNC insurance note: In Northern Cyprus, health check-ups are generally not covered by private health insurance and are paid for individually. Some international policies may cover comprehensive check-ups under certain conditions; for Turkish and European policies, check-ups typically have "optional package" status. We say this openly — because discovering it afterwards undermines your trust.

Call us or contact us via WhatsApp; a ten-minute initial conversation is enough to assess which package suits you. You can plan a check-up date via the appointments page. If you have an aesthetic procedure in mind, review the Op. Dr. İbrahim Meyzin profile; scheduling the pre-op check-up and aesthetic consultation in the same week is standard practice for our medical tourism patients. For patients seeking a complementary plan covering skin and hair, our Laser Clinic service is also available at the same medical centre.