Former Real Housewives of Orange County star Jeana Keough’s tongue cancer has left her unable to speak after “relentless” treatment.
Kara Keough Bosworth, the 70-year-old reality TV alum’s eldest daughter, shared an update on her mother’s condition with fans.
Jeana Keough’s treatment and pain has left her currently unable to talk. Instagram/@karakeoughboz
“Right now, Jeana isn’t talking,” Keough Bosworth said.
“The tongue and throat pain, paired with the mucus from radiation on the area, is just brutal. Poor mama has to spit into tissues all day.”
Keough Bosworth and her brother, Shane Keough, first shared their mother’s cancer diagnosis earlier this month, saying it came after she mentioned a painful sore on her tongue.
At the time, Keough Bosworth said her mother had undergone two surgeries and started treatment in June.
“Jeana is now in her fifth week of chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy. The treatments are relentless,” she wrote on a fundraising page for her mother’s care.
“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 said.
“Every day is a battle just to get enough nutrition and hydration to continue treatment.”
Keough Bosworth said her mum “isn’t talking” right now due to pain. Instagram/@karakeoughboz
Keough had been scheduled to receive a gastrostomy tube after not eating for weeks, but her daughter said two medical issues had put a pause to that.
“We uncovered a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) clot in her leg, and now an infection, too,” Keough Bosworth said.
“The feeding tube can’t be put directly into her stomach until there’s clarity on the infection.”
This had also paused the star’s chemotherapy and radiation.
She initially thought it was nothing until doctors discovered she had tongue cancer. Instagram/@karakeoughboz
“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,” Keough Bosworth said.