Dog the Bounty Hunter Breaks Silence After Wife Beth Chapman's Cancer Returns

Dog The Bounty Hunter has opened up about the news that his wife, Beth Chapman, is suffering from throat cancer once again.

Chapman beat the disease last year, as she and her husband documented in an A&E special titled Dog & Beth: Fight of Their Lives. According to a report by Us Weekly, Chapman's hospitalization this week bore bad news, as the cancer has returned. Dog The Bounty Hunter confirmed the news to the outlet himself.

"She had a lump in her throat twice the size of last time, and they performed an emergency surgery yesterday," he said. "They cut a hole in her throat so she can breathe; she can still talk."

Chapman was hospitalized early on Tuesday morning, when a blockage in her throat was keeping her from breathing. She was reportedly fine on Monday night, when she was spotted out to dinner with her husband. However, she reportedly awoke in the middle of the night unable to draw breath, and she was rushed to the emergency room.

Chapman underwent surgery on Tuesday, and was in recovery by mid-afternoon. It will not be her last, as Dog told reporters that the doctors "found something in her lung, which may also be cancerous."

Chapman is heading in for a biopsy on Nov. 28.

Despite the unsavory news, the Chapmans sound as optimistic as ever. They framed their last journey through cancer treatment as a fight, and this time seems no different. Dog told reporters that his wife is "doing the best she can and remains incredibly strong."

Sources close to her said that Chapman "knew something was up," and suspected that her struggle with cancer might not be over even months ago.

"Beth had not been feeling well for a number of months and finally decided to get checked out," an insider said. "She needed to see her specialist, who is based in Los Angeles. Thankfully, she did when she did. It could have been dramatically worse if she never had that appointment."

Chapman valued the support of fans and followers through her first round of cancer treatment. She has often credited the family's transparency for helping keep her strong. Last fall, she revealed her diagnosis in a letter to her friends.

"I've spent a lifetime facing tests and challenges I didn't see coming and certainly never expected," she wrote at the time. "I've been dealt my share of unexpected blows over the course of my almost 50 years but nothing as serious as the one I heard from my doctors two weeks ago when they uttered those dreaded three words, 'You have cancer.'"