Stage 4 cancer victim Teddi Mellencamp was 'cleared' to get tattoos

Teddi Mellencamp got her brand-new tattoo only after getting "medically cleared" for it.

The reality star, 43, discussed her new tattoo with Erika Jayne, 53, in a recent episode of Diamonds in the Rough podcast.

"So, always, I've wanted this tattoo, and I never got it," said Mellencamp, who is battling stage 4 cancer and five tumours removed from her lungs and brain.

Before she could continue, Jayne addressed any growing concerns about the threats a tattoo might pose to her body.

"Before everybody has a full mental break, she was allowed. She was medically cleared to get the tattoo, so don't get crazy," Jayne chimed in.

Mellencamp then completed her statement as she presumably revealed her new ink on her forearm, "My entire family and I have talked at all these holidays about wanting to get this little knife."

"I want to, whenever I'm annoyed, just be able to go. And then anyone that knows me knows we're done with this conversation. We're not we're not going any further," she continued.

"Plus," she added, "We had a song that went with it, and we'd go, 'I think I like this little knife,'" she joked, playing off of the lyrics of Little Life by singer Cordelia and calling it "the most obnoxious song ever."

"Well, know what? We've now taken it for the little knife," Mellencamp joked.

This new tattoo comes just one week after she got matching tattoos with her former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills castmate Richards, 56.

The former castmates shared that they had gotten their tattoos done at Jennifer Turner Leipart's birthday party in an Instagram post on April 10.

"We love our new tattoos! A perfect match! Yolo," Richards captioned a black-and-white photo of his arm with Mellencamp and Leipart's.

The mom of three first announced on Instagram in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with stage II melanoma. In February this year, she learned she had multiple brain tumours. Since then, she has kept her fans updated on her cancer battle.