Teddi Mellencamp Reveals Difficult Cancer Prognosis but Remains Hopeful

RHOBH alum Teddi Mellencamp opened up the prognosis she has been given by her doctors amid her battle with stage 4 brain cancer. She shared on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show,” “I would say probably 50-50,” when asked what her doctors have told her about her chances of survival.

Mellencamp, who paused her immunotherapy treatments because they were making her too sick, is not ready to give up hope. “But like, I truly believe this when I say this — and it’s gonna make me emotional — I truly believe that I’m gonna live,” she said. “I need to believe it. ‘Cause if not, it’s just too sad.” 

The mom of three has been fighting invasive melanoma that spread to her brain and lungs publicly and with candor. In April she shared the difficult news that her cancer had progressed to stage 4, and that she needed multiple forms of treatment to fight the tumors in her body.

Mellencamp admitted to feeling angry at times, as she’d lived a healthy life leading up to her diagnosis. “I would be lying if I said I also didn’t have a little bit of anger. Why did this happen to me?” she said. “In my mind, I was so healthy. I was taking care of myself. I play sports.”

Mellencamp’s Famous Father Has Stepped Up

Teddi Mellencamp is the daughter of famed singer John Mellencamp, and he has been a big help throughout her cancer journey.

“He has been beyond,” Mellencamp said, explaining that her dad has been financially supportive as well as emotionally there for her. “With all of these medical treatments and everything. He has stepped in, he’s helped me have a nurse. … He calls me every single day. He makes sure that I’m okay.”

Mellencamp said that even when she doesn’t pick up the phone, her dad continues to call, joking with her when she finally answers. “He’ll be like, ‘nobody loves their dads anymore?'” she shared. She also expressed the reason why she doesn’t always answer the phone. “Sometimes I don’t want the people I love to see me struggle,” she revealed.

How Mellencamp’s Routine Has Changed

Since becoming sick, Mellencamp is unable to perform some of the simplest tasks, including getting her kids, Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5, up and out the door for school. “I have no routine anymore,” Mellencamp shared.

Despite the serious changes in her energy level, Mellencamp focuses heavily on her hope that she will get through this. “I have to keep fighting. I can do this,” she said.

Mellencamp, who said she almost canceled her interview with Lima because she knew how emotional she’d be, decided she wanted people to see her show her feelings. “People need to know it’s okay to be upset,” she explained.