Jeana Keough is in her fifth week of chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy after a biopsy found squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Kara Keough said the treatment has already left her mother exhausted and struggling to eat and drink.
Kara said the first warning sign came a few months ago while Jeana was visiting Shane and Kara Keough in Florida. She noticed a painful spot on her tongue, assumed a tooth was rubbing against it, and went to the dentist multiple times to have the tooth filed down.
Kara Keough on the diagnosis
Kara said the sore had been there for nearly a year before the biopsy changed the timeline. What looked like a local irritation turned into a cancer diagnosis, and the treatment plan moved from surgery to a much broader course of care.
“After surgery to remove the cancer, we were hopeful that the hardest part was behind her. But when doctors recommended a second surgery to remove lymph nodes, they discovered the cancer had spread,” Kara wrote in a GoFundMe update. That is the point where the story stops being a single-procedure recovery and becomes a longer fight requiring several therapies at once.
Orange County to California
Kara said she traveled from Florida to Orange County, California, to take care of her mother during treatment. She also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover treatment expenses, everyday living costs, nutrition, and the additional support Jeana needs while she is undergoing care.
“My brothers and I want to help make sure Mom feels cared for, loved and supported throughout this fight,” Kara wrote. “Most of all, your generosity will remind her that she is not fighting this battle alone.” For readers following along, the immediate reality is not a single procedure but an ongoing treatment course that already has Jeana in week five and still leaves the next medical milestone unsaid.
