Did I bump my head? Well, not exactly ...

For those of you who are hearing about this for the first time, I apologize in advance. It was impossible to pass "the word" first-hand without sounding like I was honking my own horn, especially since what you may read here is really nothing to honk one's horn about.

I will be sharing a little history, but the bottom line is after you read this, you'll know what I know up to this point.

About six months ago, I developed what I thought was a simple blemish on my forehead above my left eye. Since, as a diabetic, I'm slow to heal anyway, I didn't think that much about it, but when it became apparent that this was more than a simple pimple (especially at my age), I finally discussed it with my doctor last month. He referred me to a dermatologist, who removed the "lesion" (as my primary doc put it) and sent it for a biopsy, with the belief that we were dealing with what he coined a "basal carcinoma".

On Thursday, the dermatologist (how can I not trust a man named Smith, not to mention the fact that he's been practicing for 30 years?) called me at work to inform me that the lab results came back and said I have a melanoma, which is much more than we anticipated. On Friday, we were thinking "OK, one more visit to remove the rest of it and I walk away with a scar at worst." Now, we're dealing with a different situation. My father and my sister have dealt with skin cancer in recent years, and now the oldest sibling gets his "turn".

I will be paying a visit to a specialist and a surgeon this Wednesday to discuss the possible treatment options. One of these options (and the most likely) is a sentinel lymph node biopsy, which means they inject a dye into what is left of the wound and see if the melanoma has spread and, if so, to where. This week is just a consultation. While we're waiting for this consultation, they will be sending the biopsy for a second opinion. Best case scenario: It hasn't spread and it's an easy removal and I'm known as "scarface" for the duration. We won't think of the other scenario just yet.

I can get a little long-winded, as most of you know, but now you know what I know. I'll keep you posted here and I'll post on facebook when I've updated this status.

If you've read this far, thank you. If you're a person of faith, your prayers will be appreciated.