Real Housewives' Teddi Mellencamp says doctors failed to spot stage 4 cancer spreading
Reality TV star Teddi Mellencamp has said that doctors didn't realise that her cancer was spreading to her brain and lungs. She's also opened up about having not requested scans that could have spotted the metastasized tumours.
Teddi, 44, who is best known for having been on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, shared that she had been diagnosed with skin cancer in 2022. She's since said to have had 17 spots of melanoma removed from her back.
Then, earlier this year, she told fans that doctors hadn't realised that the cancer had spread. She announced that stage four tumours in her brain and lungs had been found, adding that doctors suspected that they had been growing for at least 6 months by the time they were discovered.
Teddi, who competed on the US version of Celebrity Big Brother the same year that she shared her initial diagnosis, had emergency brain surgery, radiation and immunotherapy treatment after the secondary cancer was found. She's continued to share updates with fans since then.
Whilst interviewed by her pal and former RHOBH co-star Kyle Richards for Glamour magazine recently, Teddi spoke about having not questioned why she didn't have certain scans after the initial melonamos were identified. It came after Kyle suggested that she would ask for scans to detect potential spreading if she had "that much" skin cancer and it's "that aggressive". She however said "that wasn't ever brought up" to Teddi.
Sharing her thoughts on her experience, Teddi said: "When you go to a doctor, you just assume that's it." She told Kyle that she thought she was doing what she was "supposed" to do and admitted to not researching herself initially because she didn't want to know "the bad things".
Teddi, who's the daughter of singer John Mellencamp, added in the interview published earlier this week: "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?"
She said that her "highest" melanoma on her shoulder had been stage one. Teddi said that when she "finally followed up on it" she was told that scans hadn't been done because she "didn't have" anything above stage one on her body.
In the interview, Teddi, who said that she's "patiently" waiting for the day that she's told she's "cancer-free," also shared advice for fans, including telling them to trust their gut instinct. She recalled having not felt well for a "long time" before seeking medical attention, admitting that she had "self-diagnosed" instead.
Her comments come after she announced in February that her cancer had metastasized to her brain. She said at the time: "For the last several weeks I've been dealing with severe and debilitating headaches. Yesterday the pain was unbearable and required hospitalisation. After a CT scan and MRI, doctors found multiple tumours on my brain, which they believe have been growing for at least 6 months."
Teddi told fans that two tumours would be surgically removed and that the remaining smaller ones would be dealt with through radiation. She added: "I am blessed to be surrounded by my children, family, friends, doctors, nurses and surgeons who are doing everything possible to get me back into better health."
Two weeks later though, Teddi announced that two more tumours than "expected" had been removed. Then in March, she said that multiple tumours in her brain weren't able to be removed via surgry and that she also had two tumours in her lungs. She said: "These are all metastases of my melanoma. The doctors are hopeful that immunotherapy will effectively treat them."
The following month, Teddi told fans: "All tumours stage 4 (metastasized melanoma in my brain and lungs) shrunk or disappeared so I have 6ish more weeks of immunotherapy and doctors believe I will be healed if everything stays on course."
Reflecting on her experience, she wrote in April: "It's been 76 days since I went to the ER with unbearable headaches and quickly found out I had multiple stage 4 tumors 'the size of plums' in my brain and lungs. Melanoma had metastasized there and been there for '6 months to a year' and we had no clue."
The Macmillan Support Line offers confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones. If you need to talk, call us on 0808 808 0000.
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Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Real Housewives' Teddi Mellencamp says doctors failed to spot stage 4 cancer spreading
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp has spoken about being told that cancer had metastasized to her brain and lungs following treatment for melanomas Reality TV star Teddi Mellencamp has said that doctors didn't realise that her cancer was spreading to her brain and lungs. She's also opened up about having not requested scans that could have spotted the metastasized tumours. Teddi, 44, who is best known for having been on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, shared that she had been diagnosed with skin cancer in 2022. She's since said to have had 17 spots of melanoma removed from her back. Then, earlier this year, she told fans that doctors hadn't realised that the cancer had spread. She announced that stage four tumours in her brain and lungs had been found, adding that doctors suspected that they had been growing for at least 6 months by the time they were discovered. Teddi, who competed on the US version of Celebrity Big Brother the same year that she shared her initial diagnosis, had emergency brain surgery, radiation and immunotherapy treatment after the secondary cancer was found. She's continued to share updates with fans since then. Whilst interviewed by her pal and former RHOBH co-star Kyle Richards for Glamour magazine recently, Teddi spoke about having not questioned why she didn't have certain scans after the initial melonamos were identified. It came after Kyle suggested that she would ask for scans to detect potential spreading if she had "that much" skin cancer and it's "that aggressive". She however said "that wasn't ever brought up" to Teddi. Sharing her thoughts on her experience, Teddi said: "When you go to a doctor, you just assume that's it." She told Kyle that she thought she was doing what she was "supposed" to do and admitted to not researching herself initially because she didn't want to know "the bad things". Teddi, who's the daughter of singer John Mellencamp, added in the interview published earlier this week: "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?" She said that her "highest" melanoma on her shoulder had been stage one. Teddi said that when she "finally followed up on it" she was told that scans hadn't been done because she "didn't have" anything above stage one on her body. In the interview, Teddi, who said that she's "patiently" waiting for the day that she's told she's "cancer-free," also shared advice for fans, including telling them to trust their gut instinct. She recalled having not felt well for a "long time" before seeking medical attention, admitting that she had "self-diagnosed" instead. Her comments come after she announced in February that her cancer had metastasized to her brain. She said at the time: "For the last several weeks I've been dealing with severe and debilitating headaches. Yesterday the pain was unbearable and required hospitalisation. After a CT scan and MRI, doctors found multiple tumours on my brain, which they believe have been growing for at least 6 months." Teddi told fans that two tumours would be surgically removed and that the remaining smaller ones would be dealt with through radiation. She added: "I am blessed to be surrounded by my children, family, friends, doctors, nurses and surgeons who are doing everything possible to get me back into better health." Two weeks later though, Teddi announced that two more tumours than "expected" had been removed. Then in March, she said that multiple tumours in her brain weren't able to be removed via surgry and that she also had two tumours in her lungs. She said: "These are all metastases of my melanoma. The doctors are hopeful that immunotherapy will effectively treat them." The following month, Teddi told fans: "All tumours stage 4 (metastasized melanoma in my brain and lungs) shrunk or disappeared so I have 6ish more weeks of immunotherapy and doctors believe I will be healed if everything stays on course." Reflecting on her experience, she wrote in April: "It's been 76 days since I went to the ER with unbearable headaches and quickly found out I had multiple stage 4 tumors 'the size of plums' in my brain and lungs. Melanoma had metastasized there and been there for '6 months to a year' and we had no clue." The Macmillan Support Line offers confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones. If you need to talk, call us on 0808 808 0000.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Teddi Mellencamp reveals shattering experience with doctors who failed to see her stage 4 cancer spreading
Teddi Mellencamp has shared new details about her ordeal with stage four cancer, which her doctors initially failed to see spreading. She was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2022, and revealed in April of this year that the cancer had reached stage four and metastasized to her lungs and brain. In the intervening years, she had a total of 17 melanomas removed from her back, but in spite of the interventions, the doctors did not realize the extent to which her illness had advanced through to her internal organs. Once the brain and lung tumors were discovered, Teddi, 43, had to combat them with treatments as intense as surgery, radiation and immunotherapy. Now, in conversation with her former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills co-star Kyle Richards, Teddi has revealed why she never asked for the scans that could have helped the doctors detect the spread earlier. 'When you go to a doctor, you just assume that's it. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do,' she confessed in an interview with Kyle for Glamour. '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,' she argued. '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?' Teddi recalled. '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.' Her advice for others is 'that you've got to plan ahead of time. You don't need to wait until you're sick to do things like life insurance. Have those hard conversations with your family, because you never know when it's going to come.' She urged fans further to 'trust your gut instinct. There was a long time that I wasn't feeling well and didn't go to the doctor. I thought I had migraines, I thought I was going through menopause. I had self-diagnosed myself with 500 things.' Teddi then shared: 'And then one day, I couldn't stand up. It's really being an advocate for yourself and your health if you're not feeling good.' She revealed: 'Now, something I've really struggled with is that I thought I was going to get those good results and feel 100% like myself again. And I don't.' Teddi acknowledged that over the course of her illness she has 'had to come to terms with the new normal and know that it's okay if I forget a word, if I feel really tired. I'm still really proud of myself. It's okay to be disappointed that something can't happen, but still very proud that you're showing up for you.' Her latest post comes on the heels of the news that Teddi has broken up with her boyfriend Ricci Rea because she realized she does not currently have the energy to sustain a relationship alongside her health struggles. exclusively caught sight of her in a clinch with a new beau last month, and she then publicly confirmed she had a man in her life. Meanwhile her estranged husband Edwin Arroyave, with whom she shares three children, has proven to be a source of support to her as she fights her illness, but they have publicly clarified that they are still proceeding with their divorce. Last week, Teddi revealed that her latest romance had already fizzled by the time the public became aware of her new man's identity. She clarified that Ricci 'couldn't be a nicer guy,' but noted that her own health had gotten in the way of their budding relationship, on her Diamonds in the Rough podcast with her ex-Real Housewives of Beverly Hills co-star Erika Jayne. The daughter of John Mellencamp explained that she 'had to call things off' once 'it started getting to the point where it's starting to get a little bit more serious. I was like: "I don't have the capacity for this right now."' Insisting that Ricci was 'a really nice guy, couldn't be a nicer guy,' she pointed out: 'I don't feel my best, so when I have downtime I want to rest.' She previously gushed over her new boyfriend after pushing back at trolls who have criticized her for dating while undergoing cancer treatment. During an appearance on iHeart Radio's Diamond in the Rough podcast on Friday, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum spoke about the boundaries she has set while still undergoing treatment for her Stage 4 cancer. 'I've had to make it clear to people I've dated [that] this is where I am. This is what I've got,' she explained about her limitations of time and energy. 'If it's enough for you, great. If it's not enough, I won't be upset. I mean, yes, my feelings will probably be hurting, but this is all I got to give. And if that's enough, great.' The influencer, 43, shares three children, Slate, 12, Cruz, 10 and Dove, five, with her estranged husband Edwin Arroyave, 48. As for her current guy, with whom she has been seen, but has not publicly identified, she revealed, 'I haven't had to say any of those things, but he is really sweet and kind.' Referencing a recent date, she said, 'He came and picked us up this week from the [horse] show, and he could tell that I was down. He sat and watched, like, one million hours of horse show rounds. He's just a good guy, she said. 'I know I deserve it, and it's really nice,' Mellencamp added. However, if the new guy decides it's all too much for him, the social media star said she would understand. 'If for some reason you realize you need somebody that doesn't have three kids, 1 million activities to do, 87 podcasts, you want more time than I'm able to give? 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