1 week Ago By Joyann Jeffrey, TODAY
Teddi Mellencamp can’t believe how much her life has changed in just four months. The former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, 43, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer earlier this year after doctors discovered her melanoma, a type of skin cancer, had spread to other parts of her body. She underwent surgery in February to remove “multiple tumors” from her brain, and she is also undergoing radiation and immunotherapy.
To document the first four months of her Stage 4 cancer journey on Instagram , Mellencamp shared a throwback photo of how she looked before she got the surgery versus how she looks now. In the older snap, she’s smiling at the camera while her long blond locks fall to the side of her face. In the more recent picture, she looks away from the camera to show her shaved head.
“What a difference 4 months makes,” she wrote in the caption. “Sometimes I am so focused on ‘being strong’ that I forget I am allowed to be sad, cry it out, and feel very alone. I love my kids, friends, and family so much and am forever grateful to them but dang today is one of those days.
” “If you are having a day where you can’t wait for it to be bedtime so you can start over tomorrow leave me a ❤️ We are not alone,” she continued. At the end of the caption, Mellencamp used the hashtag “#Overyou cancer.” Since first being diagnosed with melanoma in 2022, Mellencamp has been open about her cancer journey.
Over the years, she’s had at least 16 melanomas removed and has shared pictures of the results of her surgeries. She’s also encouraged her fans to wear sunscreen and get regular skin checks to reduce the risk of cancer. More recently, she’s had to grapple with how the severity of her illness is affecting her family.
In the April 8 episode of her podcast, “ Two Ts In A Pod, “ she revealed that her father, musician John Mellencamp, is very worried about her health . “Yesterday, my dad calls 11 times in a row. Finally, I answer.
I’m like, ‘I’m in the bath! Let me live a little, let me enjoy.’ He goes, ‘I just want to make sure you’re going to be in our group family mausoleum,’” she said. “I go, ‘Do I need to make this commitment right now?’ And he goes, ‘Well, you’re doing your will right now, so you may as well put it in there,’” she added.
Mellencamp joked that she’s already started thinking about her tombstone. One thing she might want to engrave is a funny saying that someone told her recently, which was “Hot girls never die.” “I was like, ‘That’s going on my tombstone,’” she quipped.
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