Teddi Mellencamp has endured "very dark moments" while undergoing skin cancer treatment.
The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star - who has Bella, 15, from a previous relationship and Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, four, with husband Edwin Arroyave - was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in 2022 and has subsequently undergone 16 separate surgeries, leaving her unable to obtain life insurance and worried about the future.
She told E! News: "[The hardest part has been] the mental toll it takes. When things are so out of your control, and you can't plan for it, sometimes you just have to accept what's happening and try to find peace in that...
"You have very dark moments where you think, 'What if I don't make it? What does that mean for my children? What does that mean for my husband? What does that mean for my business?'
"You go through all those emotions.
"I have big highs and lows depending on what's going on with my surgeries and whatnot.
"And then also having those days where I say, 'I'm just going to let myself crash today. I have these three hours to myself, I'm going to let myself have a little cry, feel these emotions.' Then it's easier to process than when you pretend that everything's perfect all the time."
The 43-year-old wellness coach hasn't hidden her struggles from her children, particularly after she underwent a "major" operation in December last year to remove "a very large patch of skin where the majority of [her] melanomas were, and then they were able to pull skin over the flap of area that was missing".
She said: "It was such a major surgery that I had to go to a post-care facility for a couple of days.
"The pain was intense. And so I just had to tell them, 'Mommy might be emotional, Mommy might be not able to do all the things that she wants to be doing, but you have to know that Mommy's taking care of herself so that I can be around forever to take care of you guys.'
"They loved being open about it. My daughter became almost like my nurse. Making them a part of the process, instead of trying to hide it from them, really made them a lot more comfortable."
The 'Two Ts in A Pod' co-host admitted she initially thought her battle would be over quickly.
She said: "I remember thinking, 'Okay, well, after this surgery, it means I'll be done.'
"And then every time I would go back, there was something more, there was something more severe, there was another."
