“I am so nervous. I did not sleep. This is the first time I’ve ever left the baby, so I was crying yesterday.”
As Teddi Mellencamp continues to battle stage 4 skin cancer, the former reality star is opening up about her hair regrowth.
In a post on Instagram which shared a close up photo of how her hair is growing back as she continues to undergo cancer treatment, Mellencamp answered a question she says she gets a lot.
In the caption of the May 13 Instagram post, Mellencamp wrote, “Lots of messages asking, ‘Why don’t you shave your whole head?’”
She responded to that question, explaining that “during radiation I lost big patches of hair; those spots aren’t growing hair yet.”
Mellencamp continued saying that while she does often shave her head in order to keep her hair all one length, she can’t possibly shave her head “every day.”
“This is what it looks like when the other hair grows out,” Mellencamp wrote, noting that these times of questions no longer upset her “at this point.”
“I am grateful that most days I am feeling better,” she concluded her post. “Next round of immunotherapy in 2 days!”
Fans applauded Mellencamp’s honesty, saying she doesn’t “owe anyone an explanation.”
“If you want to shave it in patches, you get to do that,” the commenter continued. “If you want 3 long hairs and the rest shaved, you get to do that. It’s weird to me that others care about why your hair is a certain way when you’re battling cancer. You’re smiling and walking, that’s something to talk about. Keep fighting.”
“Goodness, you don’t owe anyone an explanation! Looking gorgeous anyway and keep on,” another one added.
“I really don't get why people would ask that. I think you look stunning! It will all grow back eventually, but you can also rock a shaved head,” wrote another commenter.
After being diagnosed with melanoma in 2022, Mellencamp learned the disease had progressed to stage 4 melanoma in February, metastasizing to her lungs and brain.
She underwent brain surgery to remove multiple tumors that same month.
In April, Mellencamp wrote that “it’s been 76 days since I went to the ER with unbearable headaches and quickly found out I had multiple stage 4 tumors ‘the size of plums’ in my brain and lungs.”
“Melanoma had metastasized there and been there for ‘6 months to a year’ and we had no clue,” Mellencamp continued.
“Since that day, I have had multiple surgeries, had rage from the steroids, felt very sick, laughed a ton, ridden horses, loved on my kids and felt great. When I first looked at this picture, at the scars on my head and my arm, I cried. Then, I felt a warmness rush through my body and felt so much peace. Peace from the incredible support system I have in my family and friends. Peace from the outpouring of love from y’all on here. Peace in knowing my story could help somebody save their life.”
