Top Chef alum Shirley Chung reveals stage 4 tongue cancer diagnosis: 'I am a fighter'

Top Chef alum and restaurateur Shirley Chung is opening up about her diagnosis of stage 4 tongue cancer.

Chung, 47, who was a finalist on season 11 of the cooking competition series and also competed in season 14, first shared the news on her Instagram on Friday.

"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. "And I was too busy to see a EMT specialist. 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 credited her experience as a chef with her ability to stay "very calm" as doctors delivered the news, and she said she wanted to immediately hone in a treatment. When she met with her oncologist on June 2, however, she said she "broke down, crying" when she heard the recommended treatment option was "100% removal" of her tongue.

It was her husband, Jimmy, she said that stayed calm enough to find out if there were other options. She recalled her oncologist explaining that there was a "unicorn case, at University of Chicago" where they cured a patient, who was also a chef, with radiation and chemotherapy, but she would have to go to Chicago to receive the treatment. "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 shared.

The news of Chung's diagnosis coincides with the news that she is shutting down her Los Angeles restaurant, Ms. Chi Cafe, to focus on her recovery. The restaurant will continue operations through Sunday, August 4.

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To that end, Chung also provided an update on her recovery, which she described as "like a full time job." The celebrity chef has so far completed six weeks of chemotherapy, with many more to go. "My tumor is shrinking, my speech is much better and I can eat most normal food now," she added. "I am learning to lean on others, to let go, to be more vulnerable."

Chung's post also included a video and photos of her shaving her head surrounded by loved ones. In the video, she can be heard telling the person behind the camera that shaving her hair off herself was better for her "mentally" than “pulling it off in the morning." She ultimately concluded that her new 'do was "kind of sexy."

She also concluded her post with that same positivity, writing, "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!"