Teddi Mellencamp has shared a health update and urgent warning with her one million Instagram followers. The wellness coach and former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 43, revealed that she has another surgery on the horizon to remove melanomas, a type of skin cancer. In a heartfelt post shared to her Instagram grid, she stressed the importance of regular skin checks, accompanied by a series of jarring post-surgery photos to underscore her message.
“Thank you to everyone for all the love and support,” she wrote in the caption. “To answer your main question: My next surgery is August 19th. This is #16, I think, and I keep fighting it so I am feeling more positive than a week ago. The surgery is the easy part compared to the ups and downs of not being able to control what’s going on inside my own body. August 19th will be here in no time; in the meantime I will be loving on my kids, getting to see my dad in concert with a bunch of friends, going to some incredible horse shows, and podcasting with some amazing women. I am blessed.”
At the end of the caption, she wrote: “ONLY SWIPE ON THIS PHOTO IF YOU WANT A REALITY CHECK ON HOW IMPORTANT SKIN CHECKS ARE.” Please be warned before swiping through the below gallery that the photos are very graphic and may be disturbing to some.
Mellencamp hasn’t held back in using her social media platform and influence to educate fans about skin cancer. In her most recent post, one person took to the comments section to write: “I’m sorry for being uneducated in this topic but if they cut all that skin off how are their more cancerous spots in that section? Or are they in a diff place?” Mellencamp replied: “The most recent one to pop up is right outside of where the last removal was. This is why they have me get checked every 90 days and so grateful they saw this one. I would have never assumed that tiny spot was anything.”
Mellencamp’s message about the importance of not underestimating a small spot is crucial. It’s reminiscent of her experience in 2022 when her former costar Kyle Richards noticed a concerning spot on her back. “This is a reminder to please go get your yearly skin checks,” Mellencamp captioned an Instagram post at the time. “I had been avoiding mine bc of my own anxiety for a very long time but when @kylerichards saw my back and it had changed colors again, she immediately took me to the doc who within minutes said it looks like melanoma and did a big removal.”
To drive her point home, Mellencamp included photos in that post: one showing the suspected melanoma and another, a graphic image from post-surgery. For reference on what to look for, remember the ABCDEs of melanoma: asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation, diameter larger than 6mm, and E for “everything,” which encompasses all of the above.
“I am doing my best to stay present and positive as I head to (filming) today,” she concluded the caption. “Grateful that I am busy to keep my mind from racing as I await the results. I find strength in being honest with you all and hope this helps others. Please let this be a reminder to take action on your own skin.”
