Teddi Mellencamp celebrated a cancer milestone while sharing an update on her health.
The daughter of legendary singer-songwriter John Mellencamp has melanoma, and she announced in February that doctors found multiple tumors on her brain. She was first diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in 2022, and it has now reached stage 4 after it metastasized to her lungs and brain. Last week, she learned four additional tumors had been found on her brain.
Newsweek reached out to Mellencamp’s representative via email for comment.
On Thursday, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum took to her Instagram Stories to share her “big day” with her 1.1 million followers.
“Today is supposed to be my final day of radiation,” she said, noting, however, that “it was supposed to be last week, but then they found those pesky four more tumors.”
Still, Teddi Mellencamp “decided on a nice shirt” to wear “just in case I do get to ring my bell because I only have immunotherapy left.” In the video, the 43-year-old wore a yellow T-shirt with black writing that read: “I’m a ray of f***ing sunshine.”
The ringing of the bell for cancer patients marks the completion of their chemotherapy or radiation treatment and the beginning of a new chapter.
“I feel like I have a pretty good feeling,” she told the camera. “I have a good feeling it’s working, and I love my doctor, so I’m a ray of f***ing sunshine. I also think today is going to be the last day.”
Four hours later, Teddi Mellencamp uploaded another video to her Instagram Stories, where she revealed she “got my graduation papers” and prepared to ring the bell.
“The good luck bell,” the podcast host read from the wall of the medical facility. “Ring this bell three times well. It’s told to clearly say, ‘My treatment’s done, the course is run, and I am on my way.'”
After accidentally ringing it four times, she said, “Oh no, did I mess it up because I did four?” to which someone off-camera said, “No you did it perfect[ly]!”
Over the clip, Teddi Mellencamp shared this message: “Ringing the bell can signify a major phase of treatment—Today was my last day of radiation. Five more rounds of immunotherapy to go. Love you all for the kind messages.”
In November, the All In by Teddi founder announced her divorce from husband Edwin Arroyave after 13 years of marriage. In a message posted to Instagram at the time, she said her children are her focus.
“After a great deal of care and consideration, I have made the difficult decision to file for divorce,” Teddi Mellencamp wrote. “My priority is my children and ensuring that every care is taken with their privacy and wellbeing throughout this new chapter.”
The couple share three kids together: daughters Slate and Dove, and son Cruz, as well as Arroyave’s daughter Isabella from a previous relationship.
“Making a public statement is not something I wanted to do, but in an effort to protect my family from undue speculation and rumors, I have felt being open, honest, and vulnerable is the best path forward,” she said.
Arroyave has been helping his wife through her cancer journey, and on Thursday’s episode of his The Eds podcast, he spoke out about the possibility of rekindling their relationship.
“The first thing is just making sure that we take care of this,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with time. But for right now, it’s just more of, ‘How do we take care of you? How can we get you back to normal as fast as [possible]?’ That other stuff will figure itself out.”
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