The Real Housewives of Orange County alum Jeana Keough has been diagnosed with cancer.
“A few months ago, while visiting Shane and me in Florida, my mom mentioned a painful spot on her tongue,” Jeana’s daughter, Kara Keough, wrote via a newly-created GoFundMe to help pay for her mom’s treatment. “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.”
Jeana, 70, underwent a biopsy, which found 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’s GoFundMe update read. “What we thought would be a one-time surgery became a full cancer battle. Jeana is now in her fifth week of chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. The treatments are relentless.”
Kara, 37, further claimed that her mom is “exhausted” from the toll of her health battle.
“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,” she wrote. “Every day is a battle just to get enough nutrition and hydration to continue treatment.”
Jeana shared Kara and her brothers, Shane and Colton, with her late ex-husband, Matt Keough. Amid Jeana’s treatment, Kara traveled from her home in Florida to take care of the Bravolebrity in Orange County, California.
“My brothers and I want to help make sure Mom feels cared for, loved and supported throughout this fight,” Kara explained of her reasons for launching the GoFundMe campaign. “Any funds raised will go directly toward expenses, everyday living costs, nutrition and the additional support she needs while undergoing treatment. Most of all, your generosity will remind her that she is not fighting this battle alone.”
Tamra Judge, Jeana Keough and Tammy Knickerbocker are proving that the OG OC ladies still got it. “We love a blast from the past!” Judge, 55, captioned an Instagram photo of herself posing with Real Housewives of Orange County alums Keough, 68, and Knickerbocker, 60, on Thursday, March 28. Referencing her “cease and desist” flub […]
Kara shared a link to her Instagram page on Sunday, July 19, also praising Jeana’s strength through her treatment journey.
“She is kind to everyone — even to people who have nothing to offer her in return,” Kara gushed. “She is generous to a fault. She gives people the benefit of the doubt, even when they’ve proven, over and over again, that they don’t deserve her grace. At Jeana’s house, ‘the more, the merrier’ isn’t just a saying — it’s how she lives. Everyone is welcome. She never guards her friendships or makes people feel like outsiders. She has a gift for making people feel seen, included and loved.”
She continued on Sunday, “Everyone who knows her knows this: she’s almost impossibly optimistic in the face of terrifying things — wildfires, cancer [and] uncertainty.”
