Reality TV star Teddi Mellencamp revealed she has stage 2 melanoma in a lengthy Instagram post Tuesday.
“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,” Mellencamp wrote in the 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.”
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The 41-year-old actress, best known for her role on “The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills,” was candid and honest as she described her health concerns to her 1 million Instagram followers.
“Now, next Wednesday I go to an oncologist to have it cut out and come up with a game plan on next steps,” Mellencamp wrote.
“Of course, this is all pending some additional testing and biopsies of other spots nearby that were taken today,” she continued.
Mellencamp dished out some advice to her fans, and suggested the actions she took under the sun as a teenager may have contributed to her cancer diagnosis. (RELATED: Katie Couric Reveals Cancer Diagnosis)
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“Moral of this story: if a doctor says, ‘come in every 3 months’ please go in every 3 months,” she wrote. “I so badly wanted to blow this off. ‘What could happen in 3 months?’ I thought. Apparently a lot.”
“I continue to share this journey because I was a 90s teen, putting baby oil and iodine on my skin to tan it. Never wearing sunscreen or getting my moles checked until I was 40 years old,” Mellencamp admitted.
She called her experience “a wakeup call,” and encouraged fans to “love and protect the skin you’re in.”