Comedian Fortune Feimster Reveals Her Mom Has 'Rare and Very Aggressive' Cancer: ‘It's Unfortunately Not Curable'
Fortune Feimster said her mom was diagnosed with Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of bile duct cancer
She said a mass the size of a small orange was discovered on her liver and the disease is incurable
The comedian said her mom will start chemotherapy and immunotherapy soonFortune Feimster is opening up about her mom's difficult health diagnosis.
On Sunday, May 18, the comedian, 44, posted a photo on Instagram and revealed that her mother Ginger was recently diagnosed with an incurable cancer and 'she's got a fight ahead.'
'A few weeks ago she went to urgent care over shortness of breath and by coincidence she ended up getting a scan that showed a large cancer mass (about the size of a small orange) on her liver,' she shared. 'She was told it was stage 4. She's since had several biopsies and scans and she has a very rare and very aggressive cancer. It's Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) bile duct cancer and there's a lot of it. It's stage 2.'
Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare and aggressive form of cancer that occurs in parts of the bile ducts within the liver. The disease affects about 8,000 people in the U.S. each year and is most common in people around age 70. According to the Cleveland Clinic, only a small amount of bile duct cancers are curable because they're typically not diagnosed until the disease has already spread.
Feimster shared that this was the case for her mother.
'Luckily it's contained there for now but it's unfortunately not curable,' she wrote. 'However, you can treat it. Some people live a year. Some 15. She'll start chemotherapy and immunotherapy soon. We're going to do everything we can to get her the help she needs.'
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Feimster said there's still a lot that their family is learning and put a call out to anyone with expertise in her mom's type of cancer. She added that they're looking for specialists at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
'In the meantime, she's asked for lots of prayers,' she ended. 'She's scared but ready to put up a big fight. And we're gonna go wig shopping soon. I did not offer to shave my head for her so hopefully I can find her something that makes up for it. She's resilient so I know she will be a champ and as always, our family will use light and humor to get through it. Let's go, Ginger!'
In the comments section, fans of Feimster and fellow stars sent well wishes to her mother as she begins her cancer journey.
'Sending so much love and all my Strength to Ginger!' said Reese Witherspoon while Wanda Sykes added, 'Sending you and Ginger lots of love. Prayers on the way. Let's go, Ginger!❤️💪🏾'
Jennifer Garner commented, 'Light, humor, and prayers for Ginger -/ coming right up!'
'Love you so much! Prayers upon prayers for your mom and your family! ❤️' Amanda Kloots wrote.
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And I have a deep empathy, a first-hand experience of what it's like to have nothing and no one helping you and that the experts have no idea what to tell you," she says. "I love what I do. I'm very good at what I do, it's very necessary, and because I've been so consistent, and it's so sensible, it's become apolitical. There's no opposition, it's bipartisan. We're not doing anything outrageous, or on the fringe of what is ethical or moral. This is just like a no-brainer, and so it's been fun to win." "It's way bigger than kids with epilepsy," she adds. "They're now the smallest population that use this, but the most necessary and urgent still." There's also Charlotte's Ranch, a ranch Paige purchased in Hahn's Peak, Colo., that she has a special vision for. "I look at it like her life was shared and so public — that's what I want for this beautiful horse ranch. We have sheep and cattle here, and it's to be shared. The intent is to have an open-door policy. I'm not sure how I'm gonna offer this to people or families or non-profits to come and have respite, a place that they can come to. They're welcome to be here. They can be handicapped, and it can be in wheelchairs, but it'll be accessible and available," she shares. She's hoping to offer something to other families that she and Charlotte never got to enjoy: a break from their home environment, a getaway that presents minimal medical complications. "Nothing was ever offered to us. We qualified for Make-a-Wish, but when you get the list of ideas and she's too sick for any of them, there's nothing there. I just want to pay it back a little bit, so they can just have a moment of knowing there's people out there who who are thinking of you and want to do something. I feel very driven to do this for people who've never been offered anything," Paige explains. 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