Teddi Mellencamp shared a heartbreaking revelation after doctors diagnosed her with stage 2 melanoma cancer.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum, 41, posted on Instagram Tuesday to show off a pink scar on her back with a bandage right next to it.
“Melanoma awareness update,” Mellencamp began in her caption. “Despite my anxiety, I listened to the doctors and went in for my 3-month skin check last week since my previous melanoma. They said I had another abnormal spot near my last one so they did a biopsy. I got the call this morning: Stage 2 melanoma.”
Mellencamp explained, “I will go to the oncologist next week to have it cut out and come up with a game plan on next steps. I’m still awaiting some other pending additional testing and biopsies of other spots nearby.”
“Moral of this story: if a doctor says, ‘come in every 3 months’ please go in every 3 months,” she told her followers. “I so badly wanted to blow this off. ‘What could happen in 3 months?’ I thought. Apparently a lot.”
Mellencamp acknowledged that she didn’t always take the best care of her skin and didn’t start applying sunscreen or getting her moles checked until she was 40 years old.
“This has been such a wakeup call for me, and I hope to all of you, to love and protect the skin you’re in,” she concluded her post.
Mellencamp also shared some other photos pertaining to the melanoma.
She also posted shots from before her surgery that showed two spots, one looking completely dark brown and the other light pink with a new dot of brown to it.
Hundreds of fans showered her with love and support, as well as told stories from their own experiences with melanoma.
One woman wrote, “Good for you! I had stage 2 melanoma in my 20s and now I’m 15 years cancer free. I see my dermatologist more often than any other doctor!”
A second one shared that she was taking the reality TV star’s post as a sign to visit her own doctor, “I was avoiding a spot. Thank you! You are brave and you’ve got this!”
“I’m glad they found it! You got this girl!” a third one wrote.
