First diagnosis

I always remember when my dad first got sick. I had just graduated and was driving home from Brisbane on my way to Melbourne. Mum was worried. As most males, my father was one of those guys that would rather self medicate than see a doctor.
I remember mum speaking to me the morning I arrived home. I recall her saying that dad had developed a mole on his back that was now ulcerated and bleeding. He had first noted it a few weeks ago and had just left it. I've got to admit when she first told me I wasn't too worried. Like all mothers mine was overprotective and sometimes embellished the truth. I was wrong........I saw some blood on his shirt later that day and asked him could I see the lesion. When I looked at it I knew straight away. I think he knew as well. He wouldn't look me in the eye. Instead he said "it'll be alright, I got a scratch and it seems to be healing". I just looked at him and said "Well let's just go see the doc just to make sure". I left for Melbourne that afternoon and he had an appointment that day. I remember talking to mum on the phone that night. All she could say was "Thanks. He listens to you." Needless to say they biopsied that day. I had been in Melbourne 2 days when I got the news. "Cancer, what's worse Melanoma". All i remember was the word cancer, nothing more. I just sat there stunned.......I couldn't believe it. You never like to think someone in your family gets sick or for that matter could have cancer, let alone this one..........He went for surgery to remove the cancer and biopsy the local lymph node 2 days later...............