Embracing her Scars
- TV personality Teddi Mellencamp, 42, is celebrating life after revealing a large S-shaped scar on her back from skin cancer surgeries, announcing that all of her melanoma has been removed and she will continue with diligent skin checks every three months to monitor the area.
- The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star posted the photo of her bare back on Instagram, expressing to her care team how grateful she is, with many fans expressing the beauty in her “cool scar.”
- Cancer’s affects on the body, especially body changes after treatment, can take a significant emotional toll, so it’s important to talk to a family member, friend or professional about anything that may be bothering you. With a little help, you can retrain your brain to accept and love those scars and the new body you may have, because it signifies what you’ve endured.
- Cancer survivor or not, it’s important to get in for those annual skin checks, or more if you are it heightened risk — the most important thing to look out for when it comes to finding melanoma is a sudden, new spot on your skin or a spot that is quickly changing in size, shape, or color.
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, who is the daughter of singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, posted the photo of her bare back on Instagram, expressing to her care team how grateful she is, with many fans expressing the beauty in her “cool scar.”
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“I absolutely will be diligent with my 3 month checkups,” Mellencamp added. “Please be the same with your skin checks.”
“Your scar truly shows how far you’ve come. Wishing you a healthy 2024 and less painful days ahead,” one follower wrote, while another noted the shape’s significance, “The Scar is an ‘S’ that says Survivor.”
“I love love love that you are sharing your journey. This is helping so many people,” a third person commented.
Teddi Mellencamp’s Two-Year Skin Cancer Journey
Teddi Mellencamp was first diagnosed with stage 0 melanoma back in March 2022. Then in October of that year, after keeping up with her skin checks, she was diagnosed with stage 2.
“I so badly wanted to blow this off. ‘What could happen in 3 months?’ I thought. Apparently a lot,” she wrote in her update.
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Thankfully Mellencamp has continued with those skin checks and has been listening to her doctors. Multiple surgeries later, though half of her back is now covered with an oversized scar, the mom of three is showing no evidence of cancer and is being closely monitored.
Learning to be thankful for those scars is a big part of the cancer journey.
Accepting Your Scars from Cancer
For many patients, changes in or on the body due to cancer treatment can take an emotional toll on their mental health.
Psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin shared some guidance with SurvivorNet on how people can help manage those feelings.
For example, Dr. Strongin encourages people to take ownership of the part (or parts) of their body impacted mainly by cancer treatment. She says although they may represent “fear and pain,” they also represent “strength and courage.”
“Research has found that when looking in the mirror, we are more likely to focus on the parts of our body we are dissatisfied with, which causes us to have a negative self-view and lower self-esteem,” Dr. Strongin said. “Therefore, I would like you to first spend time gazing at the parts of your body you love, give them time, honor them, and then thank them.”
Body Image After Cancer Treatment
Dr. Strongin then suggests looking at the part or parts of your body impacted by the cancer or cancer treatment. She recommends creating a regular practice of accepting your body image because it helps you accept your cancer journey emotionally and physically.
“As you allow yourself to spend more time looking at all of you, you will begin having a new relationship with your body. It may not happen immediately, but with time, you can begin honoring and thanking your new body,” Strongin adds.
Understanding Melanoma
Melanoma starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair, and eyes their color. In melanoma, the cells change in a way that allows them to spread to other organs.
Changes to a mole you’ve had for a while or a new growth on your skin could be signs of melanoma.
You’re most likely to find melanoma on sun-exposed skin areas like your face, neck, arms, and legs. Surprisingly, you might also find them in other places as well, like:
- The palms of your hands or soles of your feet
- On your eyes or mouth
- Under your nails
The top way to protect yourself is by staying out of the sun, especially during peak hours, and avoiding unprotected sun exposure because ultraviolet (UV) radiation can lead to melanoma.
According to experts like Dr. Anna Pavlick, an oncologist at NYU’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, tanning beds pose ultraviolet radiation risks for skin cancer and should be avoided completely.
RELATED: How Do I Know My Skin Cancer is Gone?
Dr. Pavlick notes that people who are covered with moles stand a higher risk of developing skin cancer, especially people with dysplastic nevis syndrome, or “atypical” moles like Teddi Mellencamp.
Atypical moles are those that are unusual-looking and, when seen under a microscope, they have irregular features. Although usually benign, a high number of atypical moles do signal an increased risk for melanoma, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation which says people with 10 or more atypical moles have 12 times higher risk of developing melanoma.
Warning Signs of Skin Cancer – Remember ABDCE
The most important thing to look out for when it comes to finding melanoma is a sudden, new spot on your skin or a spot that is quickly changing in size, shape, or color.
Dr. Cecelia Larocca, a dermatologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, recommends implementing the ABCDE rule to determine if a mole requires further examination.
The ABCDE rule:
- A: Asymmetry of the mole, or when one half of the mole doesn’t match the other
- B: Border irregularity or Bleeding
- C: Color change either lightening or darkening of a mole
- D: Diameter greater than 6mm or enlarging moles
- E: Evolving size, shape or color.
WATCH: Dr. Cecila Larocca on the ABCDEs of checking moles for signs of skin cancer
Melanoma that moves into the body, away from the skin, becomes an entirely different treatment journey for patients. Thankfully, Mellencamp has not indicated this has been the case with her disease.
Treatment options for melanoma that has spread include targeted therapy and immunotherapy, which give people a better chance of living a long and healthy life than ever before. If you’re diagnosed with melanoma, there’s a good chance surgery will be the treatment your doctor recommends.
Cancer removal usually leads to a cure in the early stages of the disease. After surgery, the removed tissue and lymph nodes are examined to measure the melanoma and determine if it has clear margins. Clear margins mean the cells around the area of tissue that was removed don’t contain any melanoma.
When no cancer cells are left around the removed area, your cancer is less likely to return.
Further Treatment for Advanced Melanoma
For melanoma patients who need additional treatment after surgery because the diseases has gone into the body, they are likely to receive adjuvant therapy (treatments administered after surgery). Adjuvant therapy is designed to improve outcomes and decrease the risk of recurrence. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some adjuvant therapy treatments for melanoma, which include:
- Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) – This medication is an immunotherapy that helps your immune system attack and kill cancer cells. It is a PD1 inhibitor drug that works by blocking the PD1 pathway used by cancer cells to hide from the immune system.
- Nivolumab (Opdivo) – Another form of immunotherapy, nivolumab is a PD1 inhibitor that works similarly to pembrolizumab.
- Dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) combination – This is a targeted therapy combo for patients with a BRAF V600E/K mutation fueling their cancer. About 50% of melanomas have BRAF mutations.
- Ipilimumab (Yervoy) – This medication is also an immunotherapy. Ipilimumab works by blocking CTLA4 protein, which is found normally on T-cells, and keeps immune cells alert to fight off cancer cells and stop their growth.
- Interferon alpha (FDA-approved, but no longer recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Melanoma Panel.)
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are diagnosed with skin cancer, SurvivorNet suggests some of the following questions to address with your care team:
- What type of skin cancer do I have?
- What treatment options exist for my type of melanoma?
- Will insurance cover this treatment?
- Would treatment through a clinical trial make sense for me?
- What resources exist to help manage my anxiety because of this diagnosis?
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