The reality star said she’s “grateful” to a friend who kept encouraging her to get screened for cancer
Teddi Mellencamp says “don’t be like me and put cancer screening off” — crediting a friend with pushing her to go get tested.
“I’m grateful I listened to my friend who kept encouraging me to get screened! Early screening helped give me more options and information,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 44, wrote in the caption for a Feb. 4 Instagram post, where she stressed the importance of regular screenings for illnesses like breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancers.
It’s a skin cancer screening that saved her life: Mellencamp was first diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer — on her back in 2022. After undergoing 17 surgeries for the invasive skin cancer, in April 2025, she shared she was now stage 4, as it had metastasized to her brain and lungs.
Although doctors had originally given her a “50/50” chance of survival, Mellencamp — who is being treated with ongoing immunotherapy — says she has “no trace of cancer.”
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“If you’ve been putting off a screening, this is your reminder. Screenings can help catch cancer before symptoms show up,” the mom of three — she shares Slate, 12, Cruz, 11, and Dove, 5, with her ex Edwin Arroyave — said.
“Don’t hesitate," Mellencamp urged. “The most important screen is the one that could save your life. Don't be like me and keep putting off cancer screenings. Getting screened helped give me more options and information.”
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2026-02-05T17:06:01Z