The Real Housewives of Orange County star Vicki Gunvalson is giving an update on good friend Jeana Keough’s tongue cancer battle.
“She’s going through it,” Vicki, 64, said on the Sunday, August 9, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “She’s in chemo, radiation, and we just pray for her.”
Vicki previously showed her support for fellow RHOC OG Jeana, 70, via Instagram.
“By now most of you have heard my incredible friend @jeanakeough is battling cancer,” she shared on July 20, linking to a GoFundMe page set up to support Jeana cover the costs of her treatment. “Her daughter Kara explained her journey on this below GoFundMe post. Please donate if you can, and lift her up in healing ❤️🩹 prayers. Jeana, you have been there for so many people through your life, now it’s our turn to be there for you! We love you girl 💪🙏❤️.”
Jeana’s daughter, Kara Keough, broke the news of her mom’s cancer battle in July.
“A few months ago, while visiting Shane and me in Florida, my mom mentioned a painful spot on her tongue,” Kara wrote via the GoFundMe page. “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.”
According to Kara, Jeana was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.
“After surgery to remove the cancer, we were hopeful that the hardest part was behind her. But when doctors recommended a second surgery to remove lymph nodes, they discovered the cancer had spread,” Kara wrote. “What we thought would be a one-time surgery became a full cancer battle.”
Kara shared an update on her mom’s treatment plan on Thursday, August 6, confirming that Jeana had “finished her last radiation treatment” the day before and that “we were informed that these next two weeks will be the roughest on her physically — as the chemo and radiation are compounding and her body will be at its weakest point.”
“The radiation burns have now made it to the outer skin on her neck and even putting medicated cream on the area with the gentlest of touches causes her wincing pain,” Kara wrote. “We’re rocking and rolling with the feeding tube and I can feed her in the dark while she sleeps at this point and she’s stopped losing weight. This is a win and we’re taking it as such.”
“We’re still trying to find a nausea treatment that might prevent the painful vomiting but haven’t found the perfect solution yet,” said Kara, noting that the “pain is excruciating and she refuses narcotics, so it’s unfortunately a really tough challenge to accept.”
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