‘Top Chef’ star Shirley Chung diagnosed with stage 4 tongue cancer: ‘I am a fighter’

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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 post also featured a series of photos of Chung shaving her hair as her loved ones surrounded her.Chung, who also competed on season 11 of “Top Chef,” said that cooking has helped her to process the news calmly.“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 said the gravitas of the diagnosis finally hit home when Dr.

Allen Ho, the lead oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, walked her through treatment options at the start 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 told that her condition could be tackled through radiation and chemotherapy treatment thanks to a “unicorn case” from the University 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, said her treatment process is a “full-time job.”Still, she’s thankful that the tumor is “shrinking,” and she’s able to “eat most normal food now.”“I am learning, I can be strong 98% of the time, it’s ok to be not ok.