"I was a 90s teen, putting baby oil and iodine on my skin to tan it. Never wearing sunscreen or getting my moles checked ... This has been such a wakeup call for me."
Sometimes, choices made at a young age can continue to impact your life for years to come. That's the message Teddi Mellencamp is hoping to share while revealing her Stage 2 melanoma diagnosis.
The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum took to her Instagram on Tuesday, sharing a picture of a bandage on her shoulder. The reality star says that doctors found "another abnormal spot," and this time they conducted a biopsy.
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View Story"I got the call this morning: Stage 2 melanoma," she wrote. "Now, next Wednesday I go to an oncologist to have it cut out and come up with a game plan on next steps."
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There are also additional tests and biopsies being conducted, but Teddi said this moment was a "wakeup call" for several different reasons. For one, she urged people to follow doctor's orders when it comes to follow-up appointments.
"What could happen in 3 months?" she wrote that she was asking herself, tempted to blow off this latest appointment. "Apparently a lot," she wrote.
Teddi also says that she believes all of this stems back from choices she made when she was younger. "I was a 90s teen, putting baby oil and iodine on my skin to tan it. Never wearing sunscreen or getting my moles checked," she wrote. "This has been such a wakeup call for me."
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View StoryShe said that she hopes it serves as a wakeup call to her followers, too, to "love and protect the skin you're in."
Back in March, Teddi addressed her skin after Kyle Richards took her to the doctor due to the color on her back changing. At that time, Teddi posted to Instagram that her doctor thought it "looks like melanoma" and "did a big removal." Teddi said anxiety was keeping her away.
In the comments to her latest post, Teddi got some support from "Real Housewives of Orange Country" star Tamra Judge, who said she's "been there and it's not fun." She was sorry for what Teddi was going through, but "happy you're bringing awareness," adding, "You got this!!!!!"