[Sportschosun Jung Yoo-na] Actress Jung Ae-ri spoke candidly about the tense moments when she was battling ovarian cancer and the chemotherapy that followed.
On the 9th, a video titled "Actress Jung Ae-ri, Episode 6 (Her Extremely Difficult Battle with Ovarian Cancer)" was uploaded to Song Seung-hwan's Wonderful Life on YouTube.
That day, Jung Ae-ri recalled how she came to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. At the time, she said she was juggling a drama and the play Take Care of Mom while keeping up with a packed schedule.
Jung Ae-ri said, "I lost weight and had a fever, but I thought it was just because I was so tired. I took Tylenol and pushed through." She added, "As an actress, once I got on stage, I would come to my senses."
Then came sudden abdominal pain. She recalled, "I was sitting at home when my stomach suddenly hurt so badly that I couldn't move." She added, "My older sister asked if we should call the 119 emergency number, and my condition was so serious that I said yes."
After being taken to the emergency room, Jung Ae-ri was diagnosed with peritonitis and eventually underwent emergency surgery. She explained, "The surgery was performed 24 hours after the peritonitis ruptured, and they said I was on the verge of sepsis." She added, "My abdomen was full of blood and pus."
An unexpected cancer diagnosis followed after the surgery. Jung Ae-ri said, "After I was discharged, I went in to hear the test results, and they told me I needed to go to the gynecology department at the Cancer Center." She added, "Cancer cells were found during the tests, and I suddenly became an ovarian cancer patient."
She also revealed that the cancer she was diagnosed with was clear cell carcinoma, one of the more difficult types of ovarian cancer to treat.
Jung Ae-ri then underwent surgery and six rounds of chemotherapy. She said, "I went through treatment with the mindset that I would just do whatever the doctor told me to do." She added, "I thought looking up information would only make me more afraid, so I trusted them and followed their guidance."
She also opened up about the pain of hair loss during chemotherapy. She said, "After my first round of chemo, my hair didn't fall out, so I thought maybe a miracle had happened. But that wasn't the case." She added, "Then my hair suddenly started falling out in clumps."
"It was so hard to look at my thinning hair that I eventually shaved my head in the bathroom at home," she said. "I even got my eyebrows done in advance, just in case they fell out too."
The side effects of chemotherapy were also severe. Jung Ae-ri said, "It felt like sand had been put in the soles of my feet and leather had been layered over them." She added, "My feet were uncomfortable for more than a year, and I could only wear comfortable sneakers."
Even so, she focused on recovery by walking and exercising steadily throughout treatment. She also said she maintained her strength by eating meat with every meal, following the medical staff's advice.
Jung Ae-ri said, "I decided to live as a good patient. I worked hard to follow everything the medical staff told me to do." She laughed, "I kept walking up and down the hallway, and a resident told me he had never seen a patient like me before."
Now that she has recovered her health, she also spoke about a special sense of solidarity with other cancer patients. Jung Ae-ri said, "People who have experienced cancer share a kind of camaraderie that doesn't need explanation." She added, "Even now, I still meet with other cancer survivors and talk with them."
She went on to say, "People who have gone through cancer generally tend not to complain and often endure a lot." She added, "We comfort each other by saying, 'Don't hold it in too much' and 'You really worked hard.'"
jyn2011@sportschosun.com
