'Real Housewives' star Jeana Keough diagnosed with tongue cancer

Real Housewives of Orange County alum Jeana Keough has been diagnosed with tongue cancer at the age of 70 as her daughter Kara Bosworth has confirmed.

Bosworth shared the news through a GoFundMe campaign created to help cover her mother's medical and living expenses during treatment.

According to the fundraiser Keough first noticed a painful spot on her tongue while visiting her daughter in Florida. Believing it was caused by a tooth rubbing against her tongue she visited the dentist several times before a biopsy revealed it was cancer.

After undergoing surgery to remove the tumour doctors recommended a second procedure to remove lymph nodes where they discovered the cancer had spread.

"What we thought would be a one-time surgery became a full cancer battle. Jeana is now in her fifth week of chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. The treatments are relentless," Bosworth wrote.

She added that the treatments have left her mother exhausted and struggling to eat due to severe pain in her tongue and throat.