‘RHOC’ alum Jeana Keough shares tongue cancer prognosis after dentist’s ‘huge mistake’

Jeana Keough is facing an uphill — but not impossible — battle.

The “Real Housewives of Orange County” alum — who can’t speak at the moment as she undergoes tongue cancer treatment — remained positive yet realistic while discussing her prognosis with Page Six via email.

“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,” she told Page Six. “We’re just praying that I’m on the good side of that coin flip.”

She continued, “I can see the finish line now, but I’m hearing it’s a long climb to recovery and that I’ll likely have the feeding tube for two to six months.”

Keough’s treatment plan has included radiation five days a week, chemotherapy once a week and some immunotherapy. She’s also been subjected to “lots of bloodwork” and intravenous hydration.

The 70-year-old was relieved to tell us she has only a few more days of radiation to go and just completed her last round of chemo, which usually “wipes [her] out for the remainder of the week.”

However, she said that “due to the location and spread of the cancer, the effects of the radiation have been the worst part,” elaborating, “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.”

She continued, “I can no longer swallow without gagging and then vomiting, which hurts like hell with a raw and inflamed throat and tongue.”

After “weeks” of struggling with these unbearable symptoms, Keough was admitted to the hospital for malnourishment and dehydration, but a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) blood clot “complicated the visit.”

After that was tackled, the former Bravolebrity was able to undergo surgery to have a feeding tube placed directly into her stomach.

“I’m now like a newborn baby being fed by my caregivers every three hours,” she told us. “I still have nausea and vomiting because of the chemo, and that really hurts now with the feeding tube incision being so fresh.”

Keough — who described herself as a “hyper-independent woman” — lamented, “It’s hard feeling so dependent on other people. … This has been a challenge unlike anything I’ve ever faced.”

The mother of three is leaning heavily on her children — son Shane Keough, daughter Kara Bosworth (both of whom live in Florida) and son Colton Keough. She is also receiving support from her friends — including several of her former co-stars — and her new boyfriend, Thomas.

In fact, Jeana was still getting to know Thomas when she received her cancer diagnosis.

“I called every doctor I knew to get their opinion. One of those doctors was a nice man I was on my second date with, Thomas,” she shared.

“Thomas has stuck with me through this cancer journey, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have him come into my life when I needed him most.”

She also praised Thomas’ sister, who happens to be a dentist.

“She took me under her wing and demanded the right and proper care for me after what she felt was a huge mistake by my dentist,” Jeana said.

Bosworth, 37, announced her mom’s cancer battle earlier this month, but the family feels they could have — and should have — received a diagnosis sooner.

Jeana told us that at some point last year, she went to her “trusted dentist,” who “insisted” that one of her teeth was “digging” into her tongue and causing the sore that had been bothering her.

“It felt like a small issue,” the Southern California real estate agent explained. “There was no mention of a specialist, no suggestion for a biopsy and [the dentist] proceeded to file the tooth down on multiple visits, sticking with the theory that it was my tooth causing the painful sore.”

After Jeana’s third visit to that dentist, she was finally referred to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor, whose biopsy would end up costing her nearly $3,000 out of pocket because the office didn’t accept her insurance.

Jeana — whose commission-based income has taken a “devastating” hit as a result of her health issues — told us she “couldn’t afford that,” so she “declined” the biopsy in the hopes of finding an in-network ENT.

A few days later, she went to visit Bosworth and Shane, 39, in the Sunshine State and made an innocent comment about not wanting to eat spicy food because it would hurt her tongue.

“My daughter immediately inquired about the pain and asked how long the spot had been there. I replied that I’d had the tooth filed down multiple times, but it was still causing pain,” Jeana recalled of the February conversation.

“She reacted strongly, insisting that ‘the tooth had been there all [my] life — why would it decide to start causing problems now?’”

Bosworth made Jeana promise she’d schedule a biopsy “immediately upon arriving home” the following week, and she did.

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

“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.

“But after consulting with my [oncologist] and his team, 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 — a glimmer that could have been attributed to inflammation but could also indicate a spread of the cancer.”

Since receiving the heartbreaking news, Jeana — whose ex-husband, retired MLB star Matt Keough, died from a pulmonary embolism in May 2020 at the age of 64 — has been surrounded by love, support, prayers, check-ins, supervision, assistance and GoFundMe donations to the tune of thousands of dollars, all of which “blows [her] away.”

“My friends, my roommates, my boyfriend and his family, and now my kids have all rearranged their lives to accommodate my treatment schedule,” the ex-TV personality marveled, adding that “no one has left [her] alone.”

“I know Alexis Bellino has texted with Kara daily to check in to see how she can help. Locally, Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge and Quinn Fry have all offered their help. I saw lots of familiar names pop up on the GoFundMe that have made me smile, too. It’s been nice to see.”

As for what she wants people to know about oral cancer and listening to their bodies, Jeana stated sternly, “Get a good dentist, and if something doesn’t feel right, demand answers.”