Scary news from legendary hoops announcer Dick Vitale ... who's opening up on his battle with melanoma this year -- but thankfully, he caught it early and is cancer free!!
82-year-old Dickie V revealed he first heard the news this summer after having a growth removed from above his nose ... which later came back positive for skin cancer.
"My heart sank," Vitale said.
But fortunately, the timing couldn't have been better ... with Vitale explaining, "It helped that we caught it early, and I was thrilled to learn it hadn’t spread."
"The bottom line is they removed all cancer cells, and I was relieved, big time, to be cancer clear."
As Vitale would say ... IT'S AWESOME NEWS, BABY!!!
Dickie V says he underwent 4 procedures to help clean up the area above his nose ... but jokes, "We all know I’m never going to look like Tom Cruise. I’ve got no hair on my dome and I’ve got a body by linguini."
"Fortunately, I continue to heal from those cosmetic surgeries and it’s working out fine."
Vitale gives credit to the V Foundation for getting checked early ... saying, "Because of early detection, something the V Foundation constantly emphasizes, thankfully we were more prepared."
The college hoops legend says he continues to heal, but will be back calling NCAA games for his 43rd(!!!) season -- and hopes this story inspires folks to get checked!
"Luckily, I took care of it when I did and I can’t stress enough that you all should do the same!"
"That’s how I’m going to achieve my goal of sitting courtside calling a game when I’m 100 years old!"
Glad you're okay, Dickie V!!!