Teddi Mellencamp has shared her frustration after her doctor refused to prescribe her GLP-1 medication, a drug commonly used for weight loss and diabetes management. The 44-year-old former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, who is battling stage four melanoma, discussed the issue on Thursday’s episode of her podcast, Two Ts in a Pod, alongside guest co-host Dolores Catania from Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Mellencamp revealed that she asked her doctor if she could take GLP-1 medication to help manage the weight gain she experienced due to her cancer treatment. However, her request was denied. “I’m a health and wellness coach who’s dying of cancer. But because I’m getting bigger from the steroids, I asked my doctor if I could have GLP-1s,” she said. Her doctor’s response was simply, “No.”
Catania expressed surprise at the refusal, responding, “I’m so sorry someone told you no, but I don’t know that I’d listen!” She also mentioned that she plans to use GLP-1 herself, as it is known to reduce blood sugar levels and curb appetite.
Despite the rejection, Mellencamp claimed she doesn’t need her doctor’s approval to access the medication. “I mean, I know people where I could get it. I have friends that do it,” she added. Catania joked, “Tell your doctor to shut up,” prompting Mellencamp to laugh and say, “Listen. Let me enjoy my time.”
Catania questioned whether Mellencamp was truly dying, suggesting that her doctor would have prescribed GLP-1 if she were. However, Mellencamp argued that she should still be able to use the medication for weight loss. “I think it’s just that I’ve gained weight,” she said. “So rude. Let me live. You tell me to live my best life, but I don’t even get to. Like, where’s my GLP-1s?”
Mellencamp was diagnosed with melanoma in 2022, and her condition advanced to stage four in 2025. The cancer metastasized to her lungs and brain, leading to major brain surgery that removed four tumors. In October, she shared on her podcast that she had “no detectable cancer” and described the moment as shocking and overwhelming.
However, she will continue immunotherapy treatments for another year. “I’m still going to be having days when I’m feeling sick and stuff because I still am in immunotherapy, so I’m still fighting because you have to be,” she explained.
“I’m not considered in remission or anything like that,” she noted. “The way the [doctors] said it works, it’s like one year, then two years, then at three years you’re allowed to be considered… in remission.”
Last month, Mellencamp took the stage at the iHeart Radio Awards to present her father, singer John Mellencamp, with the iHeartRadio Music Icon Award. During her speech, she reflected on how her father supported her through her cancer diagnosis. “He stepped up, took control, fought for me, and pretty much changed my life, saved my life,” she said.
She also addressed the question of growing up with a rock star for a father. “In my eyes, it was no different than anybody else,” she said. “He gave me advice, he’d give me groundings, he would love on me.”
