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Teddi Mellencamp has revealed that she will be undergoing emergency brain surgery after multiple tumors were discovered.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star posted a statement on Instagram on Wednesday announcing the news.
“For the last several weeks I’ve been dealing with severe and debilitating headaches,” she wrote.
“Yesterday the pain was unbearable and required hospitalization. After a CT scan and MRI, doctors found multiple tumors on my brain, which they believe have been growing for at least 6 months.”
Two of the tumors are scheduled to be removed via surgery on Wednesday while the plan for the smaller tumors is for them to “be dealt with via radiation at a later date.”
“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,” she added in her statement. “Thank you to everybody who has reached out, and to everyone who has supported me along this journey.”
She also shared a view clips of her sitting in a hospital bed as one of her friends started to shave her head with an electric razor ahead of the surgery.
“My best look!” the reality star cheerfully said to her friends who were trying to motivate her.
Mellencamp has previously been open about her experience with cancer as she recently shared an image of her surgical scar from her battle with melanoma, in honor of World Cancer Day on February 4.
“I’d like to remind you to get your skin checks scheduled,” she wrote on Instagram at the time with a zoomed-in image of a zig-zag incision on her back.
“If this is your first time seeing this, I recently shared my full melanoma journey on @tscpodcast. Give it a listen when you have a chance,” her caption continued. “If it’s not your first time, I hope it’s a good reminder. Who’s making their appointment today? #melanomaawareness #curemelanoma.”
The reality star first opened up about her melanoma diagnosis in March 2022 after she had a mole removed from her back.
At the time, Mellencamp candidly confessed she’d avoided getting her skin checked by the dermatologist “for a very long time” due to her “anxiety.” However, her friend and co-star, Kyle Richards, ultimately convinced her to consult with a doctor when she noticed the concerning mole.
“When @kylerichards18 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,” Mellencamp explained.
Initially, Mellencamp believed she’d contained the cancer cells in the area of her mole. Yet, three months later, she was diagnosed with stage II melanoma.
“Melanoma awareness update. Despite my anxiety, I listened to the doctors and went in for my 3-month skin check last week since my previous melanoma,” she wrote in an October 2022 Instagram post. “They said I had another abnormal spot near my last one so they did a biopsy. I got the call this morning: Stage 2 melanoma.”
“Moral of this story: if a doctor says, ‘come in every 3 months’ please go in every 3 months. I so badly wanted to blow this off. ‘What could happen in 3 months?’ I thought. Apparently a lot,” she continued.
More to follow…
