Top Chef star Shirley Chung has revealed on social media that she has been diagnosed with stage 4 tongue cancer.
The 47-year-old chef, who has appeared on Top Chef (season 11 runner-up), Tournament of Champions and Top Chef: Amateurs, took to social media to announce the news on Friday.
She shared a video and several photos of herself shaving her hair to prepare for chemotherapy treatments.
The chef also announced that Ms. Chi Cafe, the restaurant she opened in Culver City, California in 2018, will close next month due to her treatment.
The video showed her giving herself two big blows to the head with the razor, while joking about what kind of egg her head looked like.
Top Chef star Shirley Chung has revealed on social media that she has been diagnosed with stage 4 tongue cancer.
The chef also announced that Ms. Chi Cafe, the restaurant she opened in Culver City, California in 2018, will close next month due to her treatment.
They tell her, “You don’t have to smile, Shirley,” but she insists, “That’s automatic. Camera? I smile.”
She adds: “Surprisingly, shaving it off for my mental health… made me feel better than doing it in the morning,” adding: “It’s also kind of sexy.”
Chung also left a lengthy post on Instagram, explaining how she arrived at her diagnosis.
‘Hellooooo loves, I have some personal news to share with you. Since December of last year, I had a series of dental problems, I bit my tongue a lot, I fractured a tooth and had to extract it and get an implant… we thought it was because I grinded my teeth a lot,’ she began.
“I was too busy to see an emergency medical specialist. In late May, I developed mouth ulcers and my oral surgeon discovered a hidden tumor under my tongue,” she said.
“A few days later, I was diagnosed with stage 4 tongue cancer, as the cancer cells also spread to my lymph nodes,” she revealed to her
“I was very calm when the doctors gave me the news. As a chef, I have always thrived under pressure,” she admitted.
“I was extremely focused on getting all the tests and scans done as quickly as possible so I could get started on treatment plans,” she said.
They tell her, “You don’t have to smile, Shirley,” but she insists, “That’s automatic. Camera? I smile.”
She adds: “Surprisingly, shaving my hair off helped me a lot mentally… and made me feel better than doing it in the morning,” adding: “It’s also kind of sexy.”
“I was too busy to see an emergency medical specialist. In late May, I developed mouth ulcers and my oral surgeon discovered a hidden tumor under my tongue,” she said.
“I was very calm when the doctors gave me the news, as a chef I have always thrived under pressure,” she admitted.
She went on to say that on Sunday, June 2, “Dr. Ho, my primary oncologist at Cedar Sinai, called me to discuss treatment plans,” adding that she “broke down, cried, tried to gather her thoughts and ask questions, but physically couldn’t.”
‘All I heard was ‘option 1, surgery, 100% tongue removal’… Jimmy advocated for both of us, asked if we had any options so I could keep my tongue and the survival rates.’
They told him, ‘There is another option, which was a unicorn case, at the University of Chicago, they cured a patient (a chef!) with radiation and chemotherapy, but you’ll have to go to Chicago.’
“Higher survival rate or keeping my language? I chose to keep my language, I am a fighter, I am a chef, I can be that unicorn too,” she said.
“I just finished 6 weeks of chemotherapy (and I have a lot more to go), going to the hospital 4 times a week to get injections, it’s like a full-time job,” Chung insisted.
“My tumor is shrinking, my speech has improved a lot and I can now eat almost all normal foods. I am learning to lean on others, to let myself go, to be more vulnerable,” she continued.
Chung admitted: “It took me two weeks of reflection to decide to tell my parents about my cancer; until now, only my close circle of friends and my sister knew.”
“I’m learning, I can be strong 98% of the time, it’s okay to not be okay. I have a long and hard road to recovery ahead of me. Your love and support will help me through it. Cheer me on, Shirley Chung 2.0 will be reborn in 2025!” she concluded.
She went on to say that on Sunday, June 2, “Dr. Ho, my primary oncologist at Cedar Sinai, called me to discuss treatment plans,” adding that she “broke down, cried, tried to gather her thoughts and ask questions, but physically couldn’t.”
They told him, ‘There is another option, which was a unicorn case, at the University of Chicago, they cured a patient (a chef!) with radiation and chemotherapy, but you’ll have to go to Chicago.’
She also shared a post via her Ms. Chi Café announcing that the restaurant will be closing next week so she can focus on treatment.
“In light of Chef Shirley’s diagnosis, we have made the difficult decision to close Ms. Chi’s surgery so she can focus on her recovery. Ms. Chi’s last day of surgery will be Sunday, August 4,” the post began.
“We are incredibly grateful to each and every one of you – our staff, our supporters, and our fans. We have truly enjoyed spreading the dumpling love over the past few years and calling Culver City our home!” the post continued.
“Come on in, say hi, and enjoy our menu before we close. We will continue to operate our regular business hours through August 4th. August 14th and 15th will be the last days for @goldbelly orders, so now is the time to stock up. This is a temporary pause on orders, and we will be back!” they continued.
“Please continue to follow this account and @chfshirleychung for more updates. More dumplings to come!” the post concluded.