Teddi Mellencamp has shared a major update amid her ongoing cancer treatment.
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 44, was diagnosed with melanoma in 2022. Her condition advanced to stage four in February this year and metastasized to her lungs and brain. She then underwent major brain surgery that removed four tumors.
Following the surgery, Mellencamp — who shares children Slate, 13, Cruz, 11, and Dove, 5, with ex-husband Edwin Arroyave — was receiving immunotherapy, which she admitted to pausing in June to help her body regain its strength.
Now, she’s revealed that the cancer is “gone.”
“Just to give a little life update to you guys, I had my immunotherapy yesterday and I did my scans and at this point there is no detectable cancer,” she told Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania on the podcast Mellencamp normally co-hosts with fellow Housewife Tamra Judge, Two T’s in a Pod.
“When they told me, I was in such shock. I was like, numb,” Mellencamp continued.
Despite the good news, she will remain on immunotherapy treatments for another year. “I’m still going to be having days when I’m feeling sick and stuff because I still am in immunotherapy, so I’m still fighting because you have to be,” she explained.
“I’m not considered in remission or anything like that,” Mellencamp noted. “The way the [doctors] said it works, it’s like one year, then two years, then at three years you’re allowed to be considered … in remission. So, but that was huge news yesterday.”
Catania, appearing on the podcast to discuss the latest episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County, celebrated the news with Mellencamp. “Oh, I’m so happy!” she said, growing teary.
“How am I supposed to carry on after this? F*** the episode … I wish i could hug you. I love you. Thank you for telling me that. It took my breath away,” Catania continued.
“You did it, girl. You did it. You didn’t give up one day. You fought harder than anybody I know. That’s such good news. I’m so happy.”
Mellencamp’s health update comes months after she revealed on the podcast that she was temporarily stopping immunotherapy treatments.
“Essentially, what we figured out with me was, yes, I started out feeling great, and I could do all the pods and I could do all these things, and I could go to all my daughter’s horse shows and I could stay at my house by myself, and I felt really strong,” the reality television star explained in late July.
“And what’s happening with me is the longer that I’m on immunotherapy, the sicker it’s making me.”
Mellencamp explained that the side effects from the treatment have left her barely being able to keep her eyes open and struggling to “keep her words straight.”
“I’m on steroids and we’re doing everything that we can to get me back to feeling like I, you know, I can do this, I can do all the things,” she said.
