Shirley Chung, easiest identified for showing on “Top Chef,” clear that she’s been recognized with level 4 tongue most cancers.
Chung — who reached the general on Season 14 of the collision cooking pageant — mentioned docs discovered a “hidden tumor” underneath her tongue in Might.
“Since last year December, I had a series of dental issues, I bit my tongue severely; I fractured my tooth and had to extract it and get an implant… we thought it was because I am a heavy teeth grinder,” she wrote on Instagram.
“The end of May, ulcers erupted in my mouth and my oral surgeon discovered a hidden tumor under my tongue.”
“A few days later, I was diagnosed, stage 4 tongue cancer, as cancer cells also spread into my lymph nodes,” Chung, 47, added.
The emotional put up additionally featured a form of pictures of Chung shaving her hair as her family members surrounded her.
Chung, who additionally competed on season 11 of “Top Chef,” mentioned that cooking has helped her to procedure the scoop frivolously.
“I was very calm when doctors delivered the news,” she wrote. “As a chef, I’ve always thrive [sic] under pressure. I was extremely focused on getting all the tests and scans as fast as possible.”
Chung mentioned the gravitas of the analysis in the end collision house when Dr. Allen Ho, the top oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Clinical Centre in Los Angeles, walked her via remedy choices firstly of June.
“I broke down, crying, trying to put thoughts together and ask questions but physically couldn’t, all I heard was “option 1, surgery, 100% removal of your tongue,” she recalled, crediting her husband Jimmy, for “holding it together for both of us.”
She was once instructed that her status may well be tackled via radiation and chemotherapy remedy because of a “unicorn case” from the College of Chicago.
“Higher survival rate, or keep my tongue? I chose to keep my tongue, I am a fighter, I am a chef, I can be that unicorn too,” she wrote.
Chung, who’s now six weeks into her chemotherapy, mentioned her remedy procedure is a “full-time job.”
Nonetheless, she’s grateful that the tumor is “shrinking,” and he or she’s in a position to “eat most normal food now.”
“I am learning, I can be strong 98% of the time, it’s ok to be not ok. I have a tough long road to recovery in front of me. Your love and support will carry me through. Cheer me on, Shirley Chung 2.0 will be reborn in 2025,” she concluded her put up.
It wasn’t lengthy sooner than fellow “Top Chef” stars in a bind to the feedback category to bathe Chung with messages of backup.
Gregory Gourdet, former finalist at the twelfth and seventeenth seasons of the collision display, wrote, “You are so strong and gorgeous. You have the spirit of a fighter. See you when you kick this things ass! Love you!!”
In the meantime, Alex Guarnaschelli, who seemed on “Iron Chef,” added, “Sending you so much love. Don’t be a chef at this time. Be a person who’s cool with getting support and love. You are loved all around you. Sending you positive vibes. Very brave of you to share with us.”
