Before "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum Teddi Mellencamp was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in 2022, she was unaware that spending time under the sun without precaution would lead to dire consequences.
"I just assumed that all melanoma looked the same," she told the outlet. "And I was like, 'Well, my spots are red,' or, 'They're this. It's probably this.' And just did all this self-diagnosis, which is really nothing, just avoidance."
Even after receiving her diagnosis days ahead of BravoCon in 2022, Mellencamp brushed it off -- until she couldn't any longer.
"I remember thinking, 'Okay, well, after this surgery, it means I'll be done,'" she said. "And then every time I would go back, there was something more, there was something more severe, there was another."
In the past two years, Mellencamp has undergone 16 surgeries to excise the pigmented cells, including a major operation done in December 2023, which removed "a very large patch of skin" where the majority of her melanomas were, she said. "And then they were able to pull my skin over the flap of the area that was missing," she added.
For the "Celebrity Big Brother" alum, the hardest challenge is "the mental toll it takes."
"When things are so out of your control, and you can't plan for it, sometimes you just have to accept what's happening and try to find peace in that," she said.
Mother to daughters Slate, 12, and Dove, 4, and son Cruz, 10, with husband Edwin Arroyave -- as well as daughter Bella, 15, from a previous relationship -- Mellencamp wrestles with the fact that she is unable to acquire life insurance.
"You have very dark moments where you think, 'What if I don't make it? What does that mean for my children? What does that mean for my husband? What does that mean for my business?'" she said. "You go through all those emotions."
"People think, 'Oh, I just need to put sunscreen on when I'm going to be outside at the pool or going to the beach with my family,'" she said. "You need to be aware when you're in the car -- when you are doing pretty much anything."
She noted the significance of UVA and UVB protection and getting your eyes checked for signs of melanoma.
"It's very important that people know they should go to a certified, licensed dermatologist to get their checks," she said. "And the check should take more than five seconds. It should be a full body check."
No stranger to reality television, Mellencamp has appeared in several shows in recent years, including "Flipping Out," "Vanderpump Rules," "Celebrity Big Brother," and "The Real Housewives of Orange County." She also worked as a special correspondent for the entertainment news program "Extra."
Mellencamp hosts a weekly iHeartRadio podcast called "Two Ts in a Pod" with fellow reality star Tamra Judge.