Teddi Mellencamp Shares Photo of Her Surgery Scars After “Eye-Opening” Stage 2 Melanoma Diagnosis

After having 11 melanomas and three lymph nodes removed, Teddi Mellencamp shared her surgery scars to her fans for what she called an "inspiration to get preventative care."

By Ashley Joy Parker Dec 07, 2022 11:52 PMTags
Watch: Teddi Mellencamp Undergoes Surgery After Melanoma Diagnosis

Teddi Mellencamp has a clean bill of health.

Two months after undergoing surgery to remove stage 2 melanoma, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum took to Instagram to share news regarding her skin cancer scare.

"Pathology is back—the surgeries were successful and the margins are clear," she shared with her fans in a Dec. 7 post. "I also got genetic testing results and there are no mutations we need to worry about."

Along with the update, Teddi included a photo of the scars her now bears on the back her right shoulder, along with a before pic in the next slide.

Teddi noted that she also had a healthy mammogram and will continue to get her skin checked out every four to six weeks, as her doctor told her the number of melanoma she had in one area could be a record.

"So I say peace out to 11 melanomas and 3 lymph nodes— I gladly hardly knew ya—and hello to a new sense of peace," she continued. "It's been eye-opening how quickly things can change and it's a lesson I will never forget, nor quit speaking up about. I want nothing more than for all of you to be proactive so you do not have to experience this. Let my scars be your inspiration to get preventative care."

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Celeb Cancer Survivors

The 41-year-old thanked her support system, which includes husband Edwin Arroyave and their kids Slate, 10, Cruz, 8, Dove, 2, for getting her though the though times. (Teddi is also step-mom to her husband's daughter Isabella, 14.)

Instagram

Back in October, Teddi shared her diagnoses through a video on her Instagram Stories, explaining she had received the call from her doctor after completing a workout.

"Despite my anxiety, I listened to the doctors and went in for my 3-month skin check last week since my previous melanoma," she captioned an Oct. 11 Instagram photo of herself wearing a bandage on her right shoulder. "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."

Two weeks later, Teddi—the daughter of singer-songwriter John Mellencamp—underwent the surgery to remove the melanoma. She later explained she had "lymph nodes that lit up" so they were also removed during the procedure.

Now that she is more mindful of her own health, Teddi is using this opportunity to advocate for others to "love and protect the skin you're in."
 
"Moral of this story: If a doctor says, ‘Come in every 3 months,' please go in every 3 months," she wrote on Instagram in October. "I so badly wanted to blow this off. ‘What could happen in 3 months?' I thought. Apparently, a lot. I continue to share this journey because I was a 90s teen, putting baby oil and iodine on my skin to tan it. Never wearing sunscreen or getting my moles checked until I was 40 years old."

The Bravolebrity added, "This has been such a wakeup call for me."

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