Another one in celebration of Mother's Day... This is an amazing Huffington Post piece by actor Ken Jeong, dedicated to his wife Tran, the mother of his children -- and breast cancer survivor: For My Wife, in Celebration of Mother's Day. Yes, we're talking about the same guy who plays the naked gangster on The Hangover and the really angry Spanish teacher on NBC's Community. You know him as the crazy Asian guy, but he's also a father and a husband who's been through a lot.
During his rocket-ship rise to stardom, his family was dealing with an intense battle with cancer. Say what you will about his choices as an actor, but you have to admire him for his strength and courage -- as a person:
Three years ago, as my wife and I were eagerly adapting to parenthood with our then 1-year-old twin girls, Alexa and Zooey, we received the most devastating news. Tran was diagnosed with a highly aggressive form of breast cancer. We were both in shock, and I was angry. How could this be happening to her? How could this be happening to us now, at what should be the happiest time of our lives? But her grace and poise in how she faced her own diagnosis made me realize I'd have to stand up and be the man she needed me to be -- the man who would match her strength and be her constant throughout her battle. We were in this together.I've always admired Ken Jeong as a performer. Both on screen and when I first saw him as a standup comedian, he's always had this raw, bold energy all of his own. To be honest, I've never been much of a fan of his role in The Hangover, but at least I can now understand where some of that balls out (literally) insanity came from. Ken Jeong encourages you to learn more about the fight against cancer at Stand Up To Cancer.
Throughout her grueling treatments -- 16 chemotherapy sessions, a mastectomy, followed by radiation -- I stood by her side in complete amazement as she drew from a strength I didn't know she possessed, until she became a mother. She fought back against cancer with everything she had for our girls, so that they would grow up knowing a mother's love, a mother's instinct, a mother's touch.
It was difficult to comprehend why this was happening to her at a time when she should be enjoying the first years of motherhood with her young children. I now believe there was a reason she was diagnosed when she was -- she had a mother's strength to draw from, and a stronger will to fight.