Teddi Mellencamp opens up about Stage 4 melanoma diagnosis, how her kids are coping
Teddi Mellencamp is sharing new details about her Stage 4 melanoma diagnosis and how she is coping with an uncertain future after the discovery of additional tumors.
"There are some days [where] I think you're allowed to say, 'I don't feel confident right now, I feel very uncomfortable, and I want to wear a wig,'" Mellencamp said in a new interview with Us Weekly, published Wednesday. "And there are some days that I'm like, 'It is what it is.' Some days, I'm really sad and really scared, and some days, I'm like, 'I got this; I'm not worried.'"
The 43-year-old former star of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" shared in February that after a years-long battle with melanoma, she had undergone brain surgery following the discovery of "multiple tumors" in her brain.
Mellencamp told Us Weekly that she has Stage 4 melanoma -- a type of skin cancer -- that has metastasized to her lungs and brain.
In late March, Mellencamp received the news that four additional tumors were found on her brain, according to the magazine.
The mom of four -- including a stepdaughter with her estranged husband Edwin Arroyave -- said she is currently undergoing both radiation and immunotherapy.
Prior to the discovery of the additional tumors, Mellencamp said she had two more months of treatment before learning what may come next.
"I find out for sure exactly where we stand on June 1. If you need to do another round [of treatment], if there's any other surgery, if it's the end," she said at the time. "It's a hard pill to swallow."
While she said she has experienced physical changes like headaches, swelling and the loss of her hair during treatment, Mellencamp also opened up to Us Weekly about the emotional challenges of her diagnosis.
"I'm fighting for my life," she said. "But also for my family's life and all the people I love."
When it comes to her kids, ages 16, 12, 10 and 5, Mellencamp said they are in therapy, which she said is "helping" them cope.
"It is helping because they ask me questions that I probably wouldn't have thought to give them answers to," she said, later adding about what her kids know about her diagnosis, "They realize when I'm in pain and how massive the surgery was. I don't know that they know the rest. I think they're a bit scared."
She continued, "I'm going to fight really hard. I can't imagine my life without them, so I'm going to do everything I possibly can ... I can't imagine any of them living without me."
