Teddi Mellencamp Reveals She Has a ’50-50′ Prognosis amid Stage 4 Cancer, But ‘I Truly Believe I’m Gonna Live’

Teddi Mellencamp is choosing faith over fear as she confronts stage 4 brain cancer — a diagnosis she says comes with a 50-50 chance of survival.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 44, opened up about her emotional and physical struggles during the July 29 episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show, reflecting on how the diagnosis has upended her life.

“There’s a sense of sadness that comes along with not feeling your best,” Mellencamp shared. “The dips, the highs and lows, the unknown.”

Mellencamp, who has been candidly sharing her melanoma journey, revealed in April that her cancer had advanced to stage 4, spreading to her brain and lungs. She’s since undergone radiation, surgery, and immunotherapy to combat the disease.

“I would be lying if I said I also didn’t have a little bit of anger. Why did this happen to me?” she told host Jamie Kern Lima. “In my mind, I was so healthy. I was taking care of myself. I play sports.”

These days, many of the physical activities Mellencamp once enjoyed are no longer possible as she navigates treatment side effects. She credited her father, musician John Mellencamp, for stepping in to help with daily care.

“He has been beyond,” she said. “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.”

At first, Mellencamp said, she didn’t fully grasp how serious things were: “We thought, ‘Oh, she’ll just have the surgery and she’ll come out and she’ll be able to manage things’ … and I most certainly can’t.”

She spoke about the shock of returning home post-surgery: “I was so scared to go home and not be the me that I was when I left home. It was frightening. And so that’s when [my dad] was like, ‘Let’s get you a nurse. Let’s get you set up.’”

She described being “so weak, I couldn’t give myself a bath. I couldn’t take a shower. I had ginormous holes in my head.” Her father’s emotional and physical support was vital, she said.

He also reminded her that “it’s okay to have an emotional day,” a message that resonated with Mellencamp — especially after her most recent round of immunotherapy, which had taken place just five days before the interview. “I have it once every three weeks and it’s my most emotional day,” she said.

She even considered backing out of the interview: “I know I’m gonna get upset.” But she pushed forward, adding, “People need to know it’s okay to be upset.”

That led Lima to ask: “How much of your energy goes to fear and how much of it goes to full belief?”

“I would say a lot of my energy, it goes to belief,” Mellencamp replied. She acknowledged how much she misses her former routines — from early morning workouts to getting her kids, Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5, ready for school — and how cancer has disrupted everything.

“I have no routine anymore,” she said, noting that the diagnosis was “a big wake-up call that life isn’t perfect.” But she added, “You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to show up.”

Her fighting spirit, she said, is what fuels her every day. “I have to keep fighting. I can do this.”

When asked about her prognosis, Mellencamp answered honestly: “I would say probably 50-50. 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. I need to believe it. ‘Cause if not, it’s just too sad.”