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Keough’s kids shared the news, while her former “RHOC” costars Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge donated funds to support her health battle.
Key Points
- RHOC alum Jeana Keough has been diagnosed with tongue cancer.
- The reality star’s kids shared the news via GoFundMe and Instagram.
- Keough was on RHOC for five seasons, and has continued to make guest appearances over the years.
Former Real Housewives of Orange County star Jeana Keough is currently battling tongue cancer, her children have shared.
Kara Keough Bosworth posted a GoFundMe in her mom’s honor on Sunday, sharing the reality star and real estate agent’s story of being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.
“A few months ago, while visiting [my brother] Shane and me in Florida, my mom mentioned a painful spot on her tongue,” Kara’s note began. “She assumed a tooth had been rubbing against it and had even gone to the dentist multiple times to have the tooth filed down. I asked her how long the sore had been there. She paused, thought about it, and realized it had been nearly a year. A biopsy confirmed our worst fear: squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.”
Kara continued to say that although Jeana, 70, thought the worst was behind her after undergoing surgery to remove the cancer, doctors discovered it had spread to her lymph nodes.
“What we thought would be a one-time surgery became a full cancer battle,” Kara wrote. “Jeana is now in her fifth week of chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. The treatments are relentless. She is exhausted, struggling to stay awake, and becoming malnourished because the pain in her tongue and throat makes swallowing even the smallest bites or sips incredibly difficult. Every day is a battle just to get enough nutrition and hydration to continue treatment.”
Kara is asking for financial help for her mom as she can no longer work amid the treatments. “Because her job is commission-based, the loss of income has created an enormous financial burden at the very time she needs to focus all of her energy on healing,” she noted.
Kara said she and her brother Shane Keough both live in Florida, and have felt “painfully helpless” during much of their mom’s health battle. She is now in Orange County and, “after seeing firsthand what she’s facing, I realize even more how much support she needs—not just while I’m here, but after I return home. My brothers [Shane and Colton] and I want to help make sure Mom feels cared for, loved, and supported throughout this fight.”
At this time, the family has raised more than $42K — with Keough’s former RHOC costar and friend Vicki Gunvalson joining the hundreds of others in donating funds to make sure Jeana knows “she is not fighting this battle alone.”
Even Tamra Judge, who famously threw red wine and a cease and desist letter at Jeana during a 2011 confrontation, sent support to her former costar with a $500 donation. Fellow Real Housewives alum Jill Zarin also supported Jeana.
“I am so sad to hear our sister wife Jeana Keogh is battling cancer,” Zarin shared on Instagram. “We need to help support her in anyway we can if for nothing else being part of the original Housewives franchise that have given all of us countless hours of laughter and entertainment over the past 20 years. Even $5 will remind her of how many people love and care about her. I wish her an easy recovery and send love and kisses.”
Jeana was an original cast member on RHOC for five seasons from 2006 to 2012, and has continued to make guest appearances over the years.
Kara also posted a note about their mom on Instagram Sunday, noting her continued kindness and strength amid her cancer battle.
“Even now, in the middle of one of the most painful and vulnerable seasons of her life, she’s still finding ways to lift everyone else up,” she wrote, in part, adding, “Everyone who knows her knows this: she’s almost impossibly optimistic in the face of terrifying things—wildfires, cancer, uncertainty. Yet somehow she’s always been afraid of the simplest thing: being vulnerable enough to ask for help. So I’m asking for her.”
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She concluded, “If you’ve ever been touched by Jeana’s kindness, generosity, or friendship—or if you’d simply like to help someone who has spent her life helping others—please consider reading her story.”
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
