Teddi Mellencamp spoke candidly about why she decides to wear a wig some days amid her ongoing cancer battle.
Mellencamp, 43, took to Instagram on Tuesday, May 6, to open up about the emotionally charged decision, posting a photo of herself sporting a wig made with long, blonde locks.
“The day to day decision of wig versus no wig,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum wrote. “Crying days I tend to pick the wig.”
Mellencamp, who suffered from melanoma on and off since 2022 before revealing in February that she has stage 4 melanoma after it metastasized to her lungs and brain, touched on her current state of mind. “The highs and lows of treatment for stage 4 brain and lung tumors are pretty extreme,” she added.
The reality TV star then used the social media platform to encourage fans to stay vigilant with their own health checks. “Please go get your yearly checks,” Mellencamp urged in the post. “It’s melanoma awareness month. No better time than now to book and remind a friend or loved one.”
The daughter of singer-songwriter John Mellencamp recently spoke to Us Weekly about how she’s coping amid her ongoing cancer journey. After learning in March that four additional small tumors were growing on her brain, Mellencamp said that she’s committed to finding a balanced new normal. “I’m listening to my body, but also staying active and doing things that I love because when I do too much laying [around], I get pretty sad,” she told Us in a cover story published on April 2. “On the days I’m feeling low, I can get really emotional, and if I’m open with the people in my life, then I have an easier time resting. When I try to pretend I’m OK and resting, it’s hard for me.”
Mellencamp, who shares two daughters, Slate, 12, and Dove, 5, and a son, Cruz, 10, with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave, embraced her brain surgery scars while walking the red carpet just last week.
Stepping out for the Unforgettable Evening, Benefiting the Women’s Cancer Research Fund at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton on April 28, Mellencamp opted against a wig for the occasion. She dialled up the glam with a tailored black suit, accessorizing her look with silver chain necklaces, hoop earrings and chrome-pointed heels.
Just hours prior to the event, Mellencamp addressed her scars via Instagram, revealing that she cried when she first saw them. “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,” she wrote earlier that day. “Melanoma had metastasized there and been there for ‘6 months to a year’ and we had no clue.”
The post continued, “When I first looked at this picture, at the scars on my head and my arm, I cried. Then, I felt a warmness rush through my body and felt so much peace. Peace from the incredible support system I have in my family and friends. Peace from the outpouring of love from y’all on here. Peace in knowing my story could help somebody save their life.”
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