Chef Shirley Chung shares her progress during her cancer journey.
On Thursday, Oct. 3, Chung took to Instagram from Chicago to thank her supporters “for the outpouring of love and support” since she revealed she was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer in late July.
“Your love helped me get through the most difficult and painful weeks of my life,” she wrote in the description of the carousel on social media.
The A top chef and Tournament of Champions The star said she has now completed two weeks of both radiation and chemotherapy at the University of Chicago. And she revealed that she now has a feeding tube.
Guy Fieri will host a fundraiser with celebrity chefs A top chef Alum Shirley Chung who has stage 4 tongue cancer
“My mouth, tongue and throat are peeling from the radiation, so after 1 week of treatment my pain was so bad that drinking water felt like pouring salt on my raw meat,” she said. “So I chose to install a Gtube, a feeding tube on my stomach, so I could get all my nutrients and medicine through it, without having to torture my mouth.”
“It was a tough decision to make, but I felt so blessed that my doctor pushed me to do it,” she added.
Chung described the physical toll that tongue cancer took on her.
“I was losing weight too fast, 10 pounds in 10 days. I ended up staying in the hospital for 2 weeks for the surgery, I also found the best solution for pain control,” she wrote.
Chef Shirley Chung.
Shirley Chung/Instagram
Thankfully, Chung feels “a lot stronger” after getting her “new shiny weapon the G-Tube,” which has allowed her to maintain her weight.
The chef shared that while she has received “so much love” since discovering her diagnosis, life can still feel lonely “because no one can imagine the pain and not being able to talk or even drink water”.
Chung then shared something good: She made a friend in her radiation center’s waiting room. Chung bonded with Aubryn, her “cancer warrior sister,” over fashion.
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“We were the only 2 girls [who] he continued to dress up and do makeup for our dates,” she said. They also shared a love of food.
Chung included several photos of herself with Aubryn, adding that her new friend is a week ahead of her with treatments, allowing her to turn to Aubryn for advice.
“We exchanged a list of foods we crave and want to go eat after we get better, and we promised to cook for each other after we’re cured of cancer,” Chung concluded. “I am so grateful to have met my cancer warrior sister here and I know our friendship will continue long after we are cured.”
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Source: HIS Education