Teddi Mellencamp Says Docs Didn’t Catch Her Melanoma Spreading

Teddi Mellencamp is sharing important lessons she has learned amid her ongoing journey with stage 4 cancer.

In a candid interview published Thursday, July 17, with Glamour, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 44, opened up about the importance of advocating for your health, or having a strong support system that can advocate for you.

The reality star — who has been documenting her ongoing melanoma diagnosis after undergoing 17 surgeries for the invasive skin cancer — confirmed in April that her disease progressed to stage 4, having metastasized to her brain and lungs. She needed immunotherapy, radiation and surgery to treat the tumors.

Mellencamp explained that despite countless routine checkups with a doctor, her melanoma was not caught early before spreading. She urged others to be proactive and stay informed, no matter the situation.

“When you go to a doctor, you just assume that’s it. I’m doing what I’m supposed to do,” she told the outlet. “At first, I didn’t even really do the research on melanoma because I didn’t want to know all of the bad things. But there’s a difference between self-diagnosing yourself and being an advocate for your own health.” 

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She continued, “I never really thought about it because I was like, ‘I go to a doctor every three months. Why wouldn’t they get me checked?’ My highest melanoma on my shoulder was stage one. When I finally followed up on it, they were like, ‘We didn’t do the scans, because you didn’t have anything above a stage one on your body.’ But look what happened.”

Despite her prognosis, Mellencamp has maintained a positive mindset throughout her journey, which she attributes to her ability to overcome her past mental health struggles.

“Part of it was me not knowing the negatives of the situation and just going off my gut feeling,” she shared. “Something inside me told me, ‘You’re going to survive. You’re going to make it through this.’ Of course I have days where I feel doubt and feel worried, but I just told myself to keep showing up.” 

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“I had a conversation with someone who told me, ‘I had the same cancer as you, and I didn’t leave my bed for six months to a year. How are you doing this?’ And I said, ‘To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know that was an option,’ ” Mellencamp shared. “I’ve always struggled with anxiety, and I can get depressed. So I was always concerned with making sure that my mental health was as good as possible. I would make sure on the days that I felt good, I accomplished the things that I knew would give me more strength.”

Nowadays, Mellencamp has been trying to feel like her normal self, while recognizing that so much has changed with her body as she continues treatment.

“Before, I was so physically fit, I could run a marathon without training. They’d be like, ‘Do you want to run a half-marathon tomorrow?’ And I’d be like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ Now I don’t have as much physical strength as I used to,” she said. “I’ll be trying to open a tea and can’t and it’ll frustrate me. I’m just trying to give myself a little grace.”

The Two T’s in a Pod co-host said what’s helped her recently has been swimming and going for relaxing walks outside, which she tries to do every day.

“For whatever reason, being in water and being able to have fresh air have been two major things,” Mellencamp said.