Teddi Mellencamp Gets '2 More Removed' in Ongoing Melanoma Struggle: 'Anxiety Is Pretty High'
The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' alum shared that she’s felt “a little something” in her neck and back as she headed for a checkup
Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave posted on Instagram that “something isn’t feeling right” in her body before heading to her doctor for a checkup
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, who has been struggling with melanoma, shared that she had “2 more removed”
The reality star urged her followers to get their regular checkups and offered to help hold them accountable in her direct messages
Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave has shared an update in her ongoing struggle with the skin cancer melanoma, telling her Instagram followers, “I have to listen to my body and something isn’t feeling right.”
As she headed to her doctor for a checkup Tuesday, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum disclosed, “I have felt a little something in my neck and in my back, so anxiety is pretty high, because I didn’t feel these things before.”
And as she advised her followers to “trust your instincts,” Arroyave, 43, shared she had “2 more removed today. This is why follow-up appointments are just as important as getting that first check.”
The two new spots were also on her back, where she has a large scar from an earlier operation to remove melanoma.
The mom of Dove, 4, Cruz, 9, and Slate, 11, whom she shares with husband Edwin, was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in 2022, and has since had 15 of the cancerous growths removed.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that the Mayo Clinic says “can be treated successfully if it is found early” — and treatment “usually includes surgery to remove the melanoma.”
But Arroyave kept things in perspective — and used this latest development as a way to urge her followers to take charge of their health.
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“This is just a reminder to all of you guys. Go get your skin checked,” she said. “I was talking to someone the other day and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I tan easily, blah blah blah. So, I’m not prone to it.’ “
But as the Skin Cancer Foundation points out, “There is no such thing as a safe or healthy tan. Tanning increases your risk of basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.”
“Anyhoo, I know that sometimes going to get things checked or booking your appointments can create uneasiness in us but it is so worth it,” Arroyave said.
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“I wish I wouldn’t have put off my original skin checks and maybe I would have been in a different place than I am today,” the reality star said.
“But book your mammogram, book your ob-gyn appoints, book your skin checks. The list goes on and on,” she continued, asking her followers to direct message her so she could help keep them accountable.
Arroyave concluded, “An important reminder: Y’all can do this. Whatever stress that may cause you to be booking it, the alternative, I assure you, is worse.”
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