AceShowbiz - Former "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Teddi Mellencamp has opened up about her emotional and physical struggles as she battles stage 4 cancer. She highlighted the emotional toll her illness has taken on her family life.

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the 43-year-old reality star was visibly moved as she spoke about the fear and pain of potentially leaving her young children without a mother.

Mellencamp shares three children, Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5, with her estranged husband Edwin Arroyave, and is stepmom to Edwin's daughter Bella, 15.

"I'm like, 'I don't think that you understand like the debilitating pain that I feel some days thinking about the fact that like my kids,' " Mellencamp said, choking up during the interview. "My kids are young."

She recalled a particularly heart-wrenching moment in the hospital when she realized she was missing her daughter Dove's birthday. Edwin's gentle reassurance that they would "throw another one" for Dove didn't dispel her worry, as Mellencamp wondered, "My heart broke because I'm wondering, ‘Will she remember that I wasn't there?' "

Mellencamp was originally diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in October 2022 and underwent multiple surgeries to remove 16 melanomas. The situation escalated in February 2025 when doctors discovered multiple tumors in her brain. Following the removal of several tumors, she learned that her cancer had spread to her lungs and that four more tumors had appeared in her brain.

Amidst various treatments, including radiation, immunotherapy, and surgeries, the reality star shared that doctors have given her a "50/50" chance of survival, a prognosis she finds difficult to accept. "It's one of my favorite things to ask: 'How long I got? What are my chances?' And they oftentimes say 50/50," she stated.

Her children's reactions offer a touching glimpse into the family's ordeal. While her daughters ask numerous questions and seem to understand her diagnosis, her son Cruz appears confused and anxious, often checking if she's breathing at night.

"The other day I was taking a sip of something, and he goes, 'Can I have a sip?' I was like, 'Yeah, sure.' And he goes, 'Never mind, actually, you're contagious.' I'm like, 'I'm actually not contagious, bud,' " she explained. "He'll come in in the middle of the night and check that I'm breathing."

Mellencamp recently celebrated a milestone in her cancer journey, ringing the bell at the hospital to signify the completion of her last radiation session although her battle is far from over.