Taking the necessary next steps. Less than a week after sharing her melanoma diagnosis, Teddi Mellencamp offered another update on her health.
“Thanks for all your comments and prayers on what I thought was going to be my melanoma removal today,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 41, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, October 18. “Right before I left for NYC they took 2 additional adjacent moles and biopsied them to be safe. While I was away, those results also came back melanoma.”
Mellencamp noted she has a “new plan” for her treatment after more cancerous moles were found.
“Due to so many melanomas in one area they are worried to cut in there and try to remove because they aren’t sure what they would be cutting into,” she continued, referring to an upcoming positron emission tomography (PET) scan. “Once you have a better understanding of the disease, the next step is talking about your treatment.”
The reality star added: “Your doctor will determine your treatment plan based on the other factors of your disease, your age, and your ability to tolerate treatment. Then I will head over to see the surgical oncologist and we will go from there.”
Mellencamp said she wants to continue to document her experience to help others with similar health issues. “Melanoma awareness is something I never really knew anything about and want to remind as many of you as I can to get skin checks,” she continued. “Feeling very grateful and blessed that we caught this when we did. I have faith and lots of support from friends, family, doctors and surgeons that all will be ok.”
Earlier this month, the Celebrity Big Brother alum revealed that she was diagnosed with stage two melanoma. “I so badly wanted to blow this off. ‘What could happen in 3 months?’ I thought. Apparently a lot,” she wrote before concluding her post with a call to action,” she wrote via Instagram on October 11. “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.”
While sharing more about her health on Tuesday, the Indiana native explained that doctors want to surgically remove her moles based on her PET scan results.
“I will need wide excision surgery removal and nodal mapping. During the surgery they will also do a sentinel lymph node biopsy. Because with a PET scan they can’t see if it’s spread to lymph nodes, I am getting 2 more biopsies of new locations today and surgery is on Tuesday,” she wrote alongside Instagram photos of her back. “Spots 3 & 4 in the pic near my shoulder are the ones they are concerned could go to lymph nodes and will be a large connected removal. Then I will meet with a geneticist to see if I could possibly have the BRCA2 mutation. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support 💕 Please go get checked.”
