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Real Housewives of Orange County’s Gina Kirschenheiter is sharing her emotional reaction to the news fellow Bravosphere star Jeana Keough is battling tongue cancer.
“The last [I saw] Gina [was] this season, and we have a very good mutual friend, so I kind of knew what was going on with her,” Gina exclusively told Us on Friday, August 6. “I just gave her really big hugs the night that I did see her.”
She continued, “You know, she has so much she’s going through right now. The last thing she needs is another housewife, you know, poking around in her business.”
Jeana’s daughter, Kara Keough, announced her mother was diagnosed with tongue cancer in July.
“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 to pay for her 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.”
On July 31, Kara shared an update on her mother’s condition in the midst of her treatment.
“Jeana is home and recovering,” Kara wrote at the time. “She’s done with chemo and only has 2 days of radiation left! After next week’s treatment, she’ll be able to start recovering.”
When speaking to Us, Gina said she was saddened to hear of her friend’s diagnosis — especially at such a happy time in the reality TV star’s life.
“What was so sad too? She met this, like, great guy [at the time] and she was, like, so excited about that,” she said. “And then this all happened, and I feel like, oh, it was just so sad to watch her get to such a good, happy place, and then have this all happen. It’s very sad.”
She added, “I think that everyone rallies around, you know? Anyone who’s going through anything. It’s like a sisterhood. So we, our hearts go out to Jeana and her family, and you know, if she needs anything we’re here for her.”
In her most recent update, Kara shared that her mother’s boyfriend, Thomas, as well as her brother, Colton, have been helping to care for her in the midst of her treatment.
“Her boyfriend Thomas, Colton and I have been in a rotation of care, and she’s being monitored by at least one of us at all times. She isn’t speaking right now, or swallowing anything, but she’s making her thoughts known via texts. She’s still trying to take care of everyone else, but we’re trying to remind her that her priority needs to be her recovery.”
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