Teddi Mellencamp has been diagnosed ‘multiple’ brain tumors that may have been caused by her aggressive skin cancer.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star revealed this week that several malignant masses were found in her brain after several weeks of ‘debilitating’ headaches.
She said doctors believe they had been growing for at least six months.
The 43-year-old was diagnosed in 2022 with stage two melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer that affects over 100,000 Americans every year.
It’s unclear if the brain tumors came from her melanoma – which she has had 16 surgeries to remove – or if it’s a separate form of cancer, but experts have warned melanoma is one of the cancers most likely to spread to the brain.
In fact, recent research suggests up to seven in 10 patients with aggressive melanoma may develop brain tumors.
Brain tumors can be especially had to remove, as they can sit within vital nerves and tissues that may severely damage patients if damaged.
Experts have also warned that while all skin cancers may look the same, melanoma blemishes may appear more irregularly shaped and be unevenly brown or black colored.
Signs of skin cancer range from innocuous to obvious, but experts warn that treating cases early is key to making sure they do not spread or further develop
Teddi Mellencamp has revealed she will be undergoing surgery today after ‘multiple’ tumors were found on her brain
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Melanoma is also on the rise in the US, which experts have blamed increased sun exposure from sun tanning and climate change.
Melanoma forms from melanocytes, cells that produce the pigment melanin, which gives skin and eyes their color.
Affecting 104,000 Americans and killing 8,000, melanoma accounts for eight in 10 skin cancer deaths in the US.
According to Moffitt Cancer Center, melanoma moles tend to have a different shape, size or color than other moles on the body.
They may also be unevenly colored and have multiple shades of tan, brown, or black, and could gradually change color or shape.
Melanoma blemishes are also often irregularly shaped and do not form a perfect circle like non-melanoma skin cancers.
People with lighter skin are at the greatest risk of melanoma – with a one in 33 chance – because they have less melanin in their skin, which helps protect against the sun’s UV rays.
It is so much deadlier than other forms of the disease because it can spread rapidly throughout the skin and other parts of the body.
Mellencamp is pictured above just before going into brain surgery this week
The above image shows Teddi Mellencamp’s scars from having parts of her skin cancer removed
Symptoms of melanoma spreading to the brain include headaches, vision problems, seizures, paralysis on one side of the body, swollen lymph nodes, nausea, vomiting, weakness, and fatigue, according to Moffitt Cancer Center.
Experts estimate 40 to 70 percent of patients with advanced melanoma have the cancer spread to their brain.
Most patients only survive about four to five months after melanoma travels to the brain, experts estimate.
This could be because melanoma cells have certain gene mutations that help them disrupt the blood-brain barrier, a protective membrane between the blood and the brain, allowing the cells to cross easily into brain tissues and nerve cells.
A 2022 study also found that melanoma cells that travel to the brain can produce amyloid beta, a toxic protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease and brain cancers like glioblastoma.
Melanoma cells may also form their own blood vessels within other organs, including the brain, allowing more nutrients to be supplied to tumors in those other areas.
People with skin cancer also have an increased risk of developing other, independent cancers that are not related to their original condition.
Melanoma, for example, has been linked to a higher risk of new cancers forming in the breast, kidney and thyroid, among other organs.
Basal cell carcinoma, usually a less deadly skin cancer, is associated with an increased risk of developing blood, breast, colon, and prostate cancers.
