Teddi Mellencamp warns about critical medical oversight in her cancer journey
The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star, 44, opened up about how doctors missed a crucial step in her melanoma monitoring process, despite her regular visits.
"When you go to a doctor, you just assume that's it. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do," Mellencamp told Glamour. "At first, I didn't even really do the research on melanoma because I didn't want to know all of the bad things."
The television personality has been vocal about her stage 4 metastatic melanoma diagnosis and multiple subsequent treatments, using her platform to raise awareness about the deadly skin cancer.
Mellencamp shared how doctors may have overlooked the symptoms prior to her stage 4 diagnosis.
WATCH: KYLE RICHARDS CALLS TEDDI MELLENCAMP 'INCREDIBLY STRONG' DURING CANCER BATTLE
"There's a difference between self-diagnosing yourself and being an advocate for your own health," she told the outlet. "I never really thought about it because I was like, I go to a doctor every three months. Why wouldn't they get me checked?"
According to Mellencamp, her highest-stage melanoma was a stage one lesion in her shoulder.
Since her previous diagnoses hadn't exceeded stage one, doctors allegedly made the call to forgo full-body scans—something Mellencamp now believes was a major misstep as they didn't catch her melanoma spreading.
"When I finally followed up on it, they were like, 'We didn't do the scans, because you didn't have anything above a stage one on your body,'" she recalled. "But look what happened."
Mellencamp urged others to take a more proactive role in their healthcare.
"It's really being an advocate for yourself and your health if you're not feeling good," she said.
The reality star continues to undergo treatment and has kept her fans updated via social media, where she shares not only her medical journey, but also the emotional toll it's taken.
Mellencamp was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer earlier this year after her melanoma metastasized in her brain and lungs. She underwent surgery to remove several masses and has been receiving immunotherapy and radiation.
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