Real Housewives of Orange County (RHOC) alum Jeana Keough thought she just had a sharp tooth. Instead, the 70-year-old reality star is now fighting oral cancer.
A few months back, Keough told her daughter, Kara Bosworth, about an uncomfortable spot on her tongue. She figured a rough tooth edge was rubbing against the skin and even went to the dentist a few times to get the tooth filed down. However, when Bosworth asked how long the sore had been bothering her, they realized it’d been lingering for nearly a year.
Related story
Elle King’s Autism Diagnosis Proves It’s Never Too Late to Find Answers: ‘Everything Makes So Much Sense Now’
Bosworth shared the heartbreaking news on a GoFundMe page launched to help support her mother’s care. “A biopsy confirmed our worst fear: squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue,” Bosworth wrote.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, oral cancer most commonly affects people age 60 and older. Tongue cancer typically originates in squamous cells: the thin, flat cells on the surface of the mouth. Early signs can look like ordinary, harmless mouth ulcers or patches that won’t go away, but if left untreated, the cancer can spread through the mouth and throat to the lymph nodes and other areas of the head and neck — which is exactly what happened to Keough.
“What we thought would be a one-time surgery became a full cancer battle,” Bosworth shared on the GoFundMe page. “Jeana is now in her fifth week of chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. The treatments are relentless.”
Bosworth noted that the severe pain in her mother’s tongue and throat has made swallowing “even the smallest bites or sips” nearly impossible. “Every day is a battle just to get enough nutrition and hydration to continue treatment,” she continued.
The time away from work has also created a financial strain on top of the physical fight. To help ease the burden, several familiar Bravo stars have stepped in to help her out, including her former RHOC castmates Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge. Judge’s support surprised many fans given their rocky history on the show, which famously included a 2011 fight involving thrown wine and a cease-and-desist letter.
Real Housewives of New York (RHONY) alum Jill Zarin also donated and rallied fans on social media, reminding the community to support an original cast member who helped launch the franchise two decades ago. As an OG housewife, Keough anchored the reality hit for its first five seasons from 2006 to 2012 and paved the way for the entire Bravo universe.
Keough’s diagnosis is a sobering reminder of how important it is to pay attention to our bodies. Even the mildest, most ordinary symptoms deserve a second look if they don’t go away.
