After news broke Sunday morning that Dog the Bounty Hunter star, Beth Chapman was in a medically induced coma due to a choking accident, it’s been heartbreaking for fans to watch the reality TV personality go through her fair share of health struggles over the years.
While there is no denying that Chapman and her husband, Duane “Dog” Chapman are the toughest celebrities around, bringing countless criminals to justice both in the U.S. and abroad, they are also human and over the last year and a half, Chapman has had a much more difficult fight on their hands — for her health.
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Having learned in November 2018 that Chapman’s cancer had returned after two surgeries, the Chapman family has said they are currently looking at options while determining the A&E star’s prognosis.
Keep scrolling to see how Chapman’s cancer journey has progressed, and learn where the reality personalities are now in the fight of their lives.
Initial Diagnosis
After feeling something was off with her health, Beth and Dog learned in September 2017 that she was suffering from Stage II throat cancer.
“As most of you know I’ve spent a lifetime facing tests and challenges I didn’t see coming and certainly never expected. I’ve been dealt my share of unexpected blows over the course of my almost fifty 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,’” she said in a statement to Radar Online at the time.
50/50 Chance
Things weren’t looking good for the reality personality heading into Beth’s surgery.
“As I start this battle, I don’t see a lot of optimism,” Beth revealed on her A&E special, Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives. “They give me 50/50 chances.”
But in a letter to her fans, Beth said she would take her chances with strength.
“I’ve stared down the devil more than once in my life but I’ve never faced a real life or death decision,” she wrote. “My life has never been easy, and I surely don’t expect it to start now. Still, I’ve never been a victim and I won’t let cancer beat me. I realize the road I am about to travel will be rocky, full of unexpected twists and turns. But I know one thing for sure. A bend in the road is not the end of the road.”
First Surgery
Going into her 13-hour surgery, Dog was trying to keep positive about Beth’s prognosis, saying on Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives, “We’re gonna show the world how she’s gonna beat this, OK? I couldn’t do this OK, that’s a tough woman, physically, emotionally, spiritually. The cancer picked on the wrong female.”
Beth was also trying to stay up, despite the feat ahead of her.
“My whole life, I have been an example to other people,” she said. “I’ve had so many comebacks. Im gonna come back from this.”
Cancer-Free
Following the surgery, doctors declared Beth “cancer-free,” prompting an emotional response from her relieved husband on Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives.
“There is a God. This could be a miracle. This could be a healing,” Dog said after receiving the news. “[The doctor] said if I wasn’t such a good husband it wouldn’t have worked out that great. Oh, I can breathe. Beth Chapman, you did it.”
“When we made a pledge many years ago,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “I said I’d love her in sickness and in health until death do us part. And that truth has really, really come alive in my mind. And I have to stand on that; I gave her an oath that I would love her forever. And thank God it’s not till death do us part at this point.”
Emergency Surgery
After a year spent recovering from the surgery, the Chapmans had another scary moment when Beth was rushed into emergency surgery in November 2018 due to a “blockage” in her throat.
Once in surgery, doctors discovered the source of the blockage was a “large mass,” which they removed and tested while she was allowed to recover.
New Diagnosis
During the emergency surgery, surgeons discovered that the blockage in Beth’s throat was caused by a return of her cancer.
Dog told Us Weekly after getting the shocking news that there was hope that doctors were able to remove all of the diseased tissue, but that there was the fear that the cancerous cells had spread to a spot in her lung.
“They got most of the throat cancer out,” Dog told the outlet. “Her airway is clear now, but the doctors are afraid that it has spread. They are doing a biopsy scan to check if it has spread.”
“I told them I need to know right away and they’re going to get me the results by tomorrow,” the bounty hunter added. “Hopefully it hasn’t spread. Last time it didn’t spread at all, so we’re hoping the same thing.”
‘Not Doing Good’
The day after her emergency surgery, TMZ caught up with Dog and the couple’s daughter Lyssa Chapman, both of whom asked for prayers for the ailing Beth.
“She is not doing good,” Dog told the outlet, breaking down in tears. “I appreciate the question and please say a prayer.”
“We are all so devastated. We love our Mommy so much and thank you guys for being here,” Lyssa added. “We got such an amazing [outpouring] from our fans and we just really appreciate it… Poor daddy.”
Beth Speaks
The day after news first broke that her cancer had returned, Beth broke her silence on the devastating news on Instagram, sharing a photo of herself in the hospital, cuddling up to Dog in her bed.
“Another bend in the road, yet not the end of the road,” she wrote in the caption, adding the hashtags “faith,” “love” and “stay humble pray.”
Sending the best to Beth and Dog during this time!
Photo credit: Instagram/Beth Chapman
June 23, 2019: Medically induced coma
After it was initially learned that Chapman was rushed to the hospital late Saturday, early Sunday morning after a breathing issue that occurred at her home, TMZ reported a 911 call detailed how the Chapman residence indicated they needed emergency help with a “choking” situation.
This is similar to a situation Chapman faced back in April and is related to breathing issues she has been facing due to her throat cancer. The reality star was rushed from her home to the nearby Queen’s Medical Center, with TMZ adding that she has been there since.
Chapman remains in the medically induced coma at the moment and many of her family members, including her daughter Bonnie, are on their way to join in support at the hospital. In Dog’s initial request to fans via social media, he asked: “Please say your prayers for Beth right now. Thank you love you.”
