RHOC star Jeana Keough calls out her dentist’s ‘huge mistake’ as she details ‘upsetting’ tongue cancer prognosis… amid GoFundMe backlash

Real Housewives of Orange County star Jeana Keough said her longtime dentist made a ‘huge mistake’ in not recognizing indicators she had been battling tongue cancer.

Keough, 70, who is unable to speak amid her health battle, told Page Six in an email on Thursday that last year, her ‘trusted’ dentist ‘insisted’ to her that soreness in her tongue she had been experiencing was due to one of her teeth ‘digging’ into it.

The Bravo star said that initially it had ‘felt like a small issue,’ as ‘there was no mention of a specialist’ or ‘no suggestion for a biopsy’ amid the recurring pain amid ‘multiple visits’ in which the dentist ‘proceeded to file the tooth down.’

She told the outlet the dentist stuck with ‘the theory that it was [her] tooth causing the painful sore,’ referring her to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor after the third visit.

The ENT told Keough that a biopsy would cost almost $3,000 out of pocket due to insurance issues, leading her to decline the procedure as she ‘couldn’t afford that,’ as she would look for an ENT in-network. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Keough for further comment on the story, but has not yet heard back.

Real Housewives of Orange County star Jeana Keough, 70, said her longtime dentist made a ‘huge mistake’ in not recognizing indicators she had been battling tongue cancer. Pictured in NYC in 2019

Keough, a regular on the first five seasons of the popular Bravo series, is mother to daughter Kara Bosworth, 37, and sons Shane, 39, and Colton, 34, with late ex-husband Matt Keough.

She said that during a February trip to Florida to visit her two older children, she remarked she was avoiding spicy food amid the tongue pain.

‘My daughter immediately inquired about the pain and asked how long the spot had been there,’ Keough told the outlet. ‘I replied that I’d had the tooth filed down multiple times, but it was still causing pain.’

She said her daughter ‘reacted strongly’ noting that ‘the tooth had been there’ her whole life, asking, ‘Why would it decide to start causing problems now?’

Keough said her daughter insisted she set up a biopsy ‘immediately upon arriving home’ in California the next week, at which time she received the awful news.

‘That doctor took one look in my mouth and said, “That’s cancer,”‘ Keough told the outlet. ‘A biopsy was done, and when I got the results back, it was confirmed. The tongue dissection was scheduled immediately.’

Keough said, ‘We were all hopeful that the cancer was contained to the spot and just planned the oral surgery to remove the spot, leaving my lymph nodes alone.’

Following a consultation with her oncologist and his staff, ‘It was decided that I would have a second surgery to remove about 30 to 40 nodes in a neck dissection because there was a small “glimmer” on my scans near my neck.’

The Bravo star has undergone multiple surgical procedures this month amid her health battle

Keough opened up about the effects of the treatment she’s been undergoing, which include radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy 

Keough said that the glimmer ‘could have been attributed to inflammation but could also indicate a spread of the cancer.’

She opened up about the effects of the treatment she’s been undergoing, which include radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

‘Due to the location and spread of the cancer, the effects of the radiation have been the worst part,’ Keough said. ‘My whole neck and mouth and head light up in heat, pain and soreness, and the resulting inflammation of my throat and tongue makes talking, swallowing or breathing through my mouth incredibly painful.

‘I can no longer swallow without gagging and then vomiting, which hurts like hell with a raw and inflamed throat and tongue.’

Keough said of her health battle: ‘It’s upsetting to know that even after all this treatment, I still only have a 40 to 60 percent cure rate within the next five years. We’re just praying that I’m on the good side of that coin flip.’

Bosworth on July 19 detailed her mother’s health woes in a statement on a GoFundMe fundraiser, saying that Keough had complained about ‘a painful spot on her tongue’ for almost a year’s time.

‘A biopsy confirmed our worst fear: squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue,’ Bosworth said, adding that she underwent a pair of surgeries to remove the cancer and then her lymph nodes.

She said her mother has continued with a ‘relentless’ regimen of ‘chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy’ which has left her ‘exhausted’ and ‘malnourished’ due to related pain.

Bosworth said that each day ‘is a battle just to get enough nutrition and hydration to continue treatment.’

She noted that the ailment had left her mother ‘unable to work,’ as ‘the loss of income has created an enormous financial burden at the very time she needs to focus all of her energy on healing.’

Bosworth on July 19 detailed her mother’s health woes in a statement on a GoFundMe fundraiser, saying that Keough had complained about ‘a painful spot on her tongue’ for almost a year’s time 

Keough family’s full statement 

Keough’s daughter Kara Bosworth, who launched the GoFundMe, issued a statement to Daily Mail about the online backlash.  

‘Some folks have been pretty aggressive and hateful regarding Jeana’s financial struggles, and even about her getting cancer in general, but it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I unfortunately have seen it firsthand – there were people who found ways to be hateful after my newborn son died, so it doesn’t come as a shock that they’d do the same in this situation,’ she said.

‘I warned my mom when she asked me to start the GoFundMe that she would have to reveal that, despite her best efforts to put up a happy facade, she would have to admit publicly that she is struggling,’ she continued.

‘Some were outraged that I was “asking people less fortunate” than me for help, but I can sleep at night knowing the truth: that I reached out via my personal Instagram to my village —people that were asking me how they could help support Jeana— and they responded with their own free will. 

‘I found it to be the best way to reach people that love my mom, and want to help. A wider population found out about her cancer journey via the media, and for the most part their responses have been beautiful.

‘Unfortunately, there are also haters. In general, most people are being supportive, kind, and helpful — sending advice, encouragement, and prayers.

‘My mom has always been great at focusing on the good in any situation, and she’s doing that now – joyfully ignoring the haters and basking in the love and support from those that actually know her situation and her spirit.’

She added, ‘Here’s to hoping I can do the same someday! In the meantime, lots of blocking and deleting.

The fundraiser had been a topic of discussion earlier this month, as some people online had been critical of Keough’s family launching a GoFundMe to help defray ‘expenses, everyday living costs, nutrition, and the additional support she needs while undergoing treatment.’

RHOC’s Vicki Gunvalson said that people had misconceptions about how well off Keough had been financially, noting that her ‘income stopped’ in real estate when she began treatment.

Gunvalson, appearing on Jeff Lewis Live on SiriusXM, explained the details of her friend’s situation.

‘Jeana owns two houses in Florida,’ Gunvalson said. ‘When she sold the house next to me she bought two houses, rental property. It doesn’t have a lot of equity, the real estate in Florida has gone down.’

She noted that Keough receives ‘a small pension’ linked to her late ex-husband and ‘her social security,’ adding that ‘it’s not enough to support her rent in Coto de Caza, she rents a house there, and her life.’

Bosworth told the Daily Mail in a statement Thursday that she wasn’t shocked that there had been a backlash to the fundraising effort.

‘Some folks have been pretty aggressive and hateful regarding Jeana’s financial struggles, and even about her getting cancer in general, but it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest,’ she said. ‘I unfortunately have seen it firsthand – there were people who found ways to be hateful after my newborn son died, so it doesn’t come as a shock that they’d do the same in this situation.’

She added, ‘Some were outraged that I was “asking people less fortunate” than me for help, but I can sleep at night knowing the truth: that I reached out via my personal Instagram to my village – people that were asking me how they could help support Jeana – and they responded with their own free will.’

Bosworth said that a ‘wider population found out about her cancer journey via the media, and for the most part their responses have been beautiful,’ but ‘unfortunately, there are also haters.’

She said Keough ‘has always been great at focusing on the good in any situation, and she’s doing that now – joyfully ignoring the haters and basking in the love and support from those that actually know her situation and her spirit.

‘Here’s to hoping I can do the same someday! In the meantime, lots of blocking and deleting.’ 

Article source: https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-16018787/jeana-keough-rhoc-dentist-tongue-cancer.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490