Beth Chapman’s Cause of Death Was Lung Cancer, Not Throat Cancer, Daughter Bonnie Says

Nearly two months after Beth Chapman‘s death, her and husband Duane “Dog” Chapman‘s daughter, Bonnie Chapman, explained that Chapman died from lung cancer, not the throat cancer she had been diagnosed with nearly two years before her death. Bonnie, 20, told SurvivorNet that Chapman, 51, received effective treatment for her stage II throat cancer and that it entered remission. But the remission didn’t last, and the cancer metastasized to her lungs.

“A lot of places have been reporting that she passed away to her throat cancer, but it was actually stage IV lung cancer in the end,” Bonnie said, explaining how her mother ultimately decided to forgo chemotherapy.

“She did try one round of chemo,” Bonnie said. “And it did not go well for her. She had very severe symptoms.”

Bonnie said that Chapman was essentially unable to get out of bed due to the chemo. “She had complained about every single joint in her body starting to ache… about her not being able to get up by herself to use the bathroom. It was hell to her.”

Chapman spoke about her decision to discontinue her chemo treatments on Mother’s Day when she made a speech at The Source Church in Bradenton, Florida. “Chemotherapy is not my bag, people. Sorry, that’s not for me. For me, this is the ultimate test of faith. This is my ultimate lesson. And it’ll either be taught to you or to me.”

Bonnie said that Chapman “completely despised” chemotherapy after just a singular round of it. “She despised who she was after that one session. And she had tried [the chemo] because so many people had been telling her, ‘Please, at least try.’ And she didn’t want to disappoint people by not trying it at all, but at the end of they, she did not want to lose her hair, her teeth…. She didn’t want to feel like she was falling apart. She wanted to remain as much ‘Beth’ as possible. Even though when she did pass, she had lost the majority of her hair, she was really happy to still have her smile and still look like Beth.”

Bonnie said that none of Chapman’s children tried to convince her otherwise and that they supported their mother’s choice, partially because they knew she would not change her mind.

“My mother was very headstrong,” Bonnie said. “If you told her to do something, she probably wouldn’t do it. And for all of her family… we just wanted her to do what was best for her. Because it was her journey and I believe that none of us really could have changed her mind on it either, even if we had tried.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Bonnie looked back at the final moments of her mother’s consciousness, which Dog still struggles to process.

“My dad goes over and over and over what happened because he can’t get it out of his head,” Bonnie said. “She quite literally choked on her cancer.”

“My mom was naked in the bathroom and told my dad to look at her,” she continued. “And he goes, ‘I am looking at you.’ And she goes, ‘No, look at me.’ And then she was standing there and she started gasping.”

“And my sister came into the room, and they called 911 immediately,” Bonnie said. “And that was the last moment that we really saw her completely conscious.”

Fans of the reality TV family will get to see Dog and Chapman together again on Dog’s Most Wanted, which will center around Dog’s bounty hunting business and Beth’s final months with cancer. The series will premiere Wednesday, Sept. 4 on WGN America.