The Real Housewives of Orange County alum Jeana Keough’s daughter, Kara, is sharing an update on her mom’s battle with tongue cancer.
“Right now, Jeana isn’t talking. The tongue and throat pain, paired with the mucus from radiation on the area, is just brutal,” Kara, 37, wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday, July 27, sharing a photo of tissues sent by the brand Blow Tissues. “Poor mama has to spit into tissues all day. Our sweet friends at Blow Tissues understood the assignment. She’s never needed a delivery more.”
Kara added, “A brand that cares.”
Along with the package, the brand sent a note that read, “Jeana, I hope these can provide even an ounce of relief. Praying for your recovery!”
Kara and her brother Shane shared their mother’s cancer diagnosis in a joint Instagram post earlier this month.
“A few months ago, while visiting Shane and me in Florida, my mom mentioned a painful spot on her tongue,” Kara wrote via a GoFundMe page created to help pay for her mom’s treatment on July 19. “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 discovered 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.”
In a separate update on July 21, Kara wrote via Instagram that Jeana had a DVT clot in her leg, as well as an infection.
“The feeding tube can’t be put directly into her stomach until there’s clarity on the infection,” she explained.
“You better believe Jeana is insisting she only had a ‘fake fever’ and that she’s fine to continue with the surgery,” she added, noting that her mom’s treatment had been put on hold until the infection resolves. “Prayer needs: that this infection clears quickly, that she can get the G-tube surgery imminently so that hangry Jeana doesn’t murder someone, and that we can quickly resume treatment so that this torment can be put in the rear view mirror.”
In another update on July 23, Kara shared that Jeana was cleared to undergo surgery to get a feeding tube.
“This will allow us to bypass the painful swallowing and choking that happen[s] every time she tries to eat or drink,” she explained. “Our hope is that getting adequate nutrition will give her the strength she needs to continue fighting — and that she’ll be well enough to come home as early as this weekend.”
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