Castle Biosciences is keeping it “Real.” The diagnostics developer has partnered with Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave, a former cast member on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and the daughter of musician John Mellencamp, for a new campaign focused on raising awareness of melanoma.
Mellencamp Arroyave is a survivor of stage II melanoma and has openly documented her experiences with skin cancer and her regular check-ups on social media in hopes of inspiring others to catch and treat the disease as early as possible.
She’ll continue that mission as part of Castle’s new “Your Melanoma Is Yours to Know” campaign. The initiative is centered around empowering people affected by melanoma, by offering information about preventing, detecting and managing the condition. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and is responsible for approximately 20 U.S. deaths per day, according to data cited by Castle in a Monday release unveiling the campaign.
“Your Melanoma Is Yours to Know” will comprise a series of conversations between Mellencamp Arroyave, dermatologist Aaron Farberg, M.D., and Morgan England, a patient advocate and survivor of stage III melanoma. All of the videos will be shared on Mellencamp Arroyave’s Instagram page, where she counts 1 million followers.
In the first of the videos, the trio discuss how daunting a melanoma diagnosis can feel and how difficult it can be to gather all the information you need about the cancer. England shares her experience using Castle’s DecisionDx-Melanoma test, which analyzes the genetic makeup of a tumor to predict a patient’s risk of recurrence or metastasis, as well as their likelihood of sentinel lymph node positivity, which determines whether the cancer has spread to a nearby lymph node and should therefore be classified as stage III melanoma.
The test “brought a lot of comfort,” England says in the clip, as Mellencamp Arroyave observes, “That was the hardest part for me, was the unknown and not being able to control my surroundings—but this is something that gave you that control back.”
In her Instagram post sharing the initial video, Mellencamp Arroyave wrote that working with Castle on the campaign has “been a journey filled with profound conversations and eye-opening insights.”
“I sat down with two remarkable individuals who kindly shared their knowledge and experiences with me. From understanding melanoma to advocating for more personalized information, we delved deep into topics that matter,” she continued. “Education on skin cancer is extremely important to me, and I’m thrilled to partner with Castle Biosciences on this important mission.”
In a statement included in this week’s announcement, Mellencamp Arroyave shared that she’s so far had 14 lesions removed in major surgeries.
“I want to share my story, both to encourage others to advocate for their personal health care and to educate anyone and everyone that this disease does not discriminate, looks different on every individual, and that taking care of your skin and keeping up with your skin checks is so important,” she said.