Duane Chapman, or Dog the Bounty Hunter, has been with his wife Beth Chapman since she was 19 years old. The couple shared their lives on national television for over 15 years and now 50-year-old Beth hopes to document her battle against cancer for their ‘rabid fan base.’
Beth was diagnosed with stage II throat cancer and is set to have surgery to remove the T2 tumor.
The couple’s long and arduous journey against cancer will be publicized on a two-hour A&E special that will be aired on November 27.
During an interview with Us Weekly, Beth said: ‘we’ve shared almost our whole lives with fans. We’ve shared the ups and downs of this family with our fans for the last 15 years of our lives.’
‘So it made perfect sense that we should share something so intimate with them as well. Our rabid fan base has been so loyal to us. It just didn’t make sense to try to hide something like this. The amount of love and support and genuine outpouring of grace our fans have shown has helped us get through some of the darkest moments of our lives right now.’
Dog, who has been with Beth for more than 30 years, said that he was shocked when she agreed to do the special.
Dog said that Beth is ‘a feminine girly girl’ so having her agree to do the show was something that surprised him since it meant she would be filmed without having her hair done.
In the interview, Dog said: ‘she was like, ‘I’ve got to show them how to beat this Big Daddy! I’ve shown them how to capture fugitives, how to give second chances, I’ve got to show them how to beat this,’ I just was stunned.’
It was during this interview with US Weekley where Dog broke down in tears and said: ‘she woke up once in the middle of the night and she’s like, ‘Honey, I’m gonna die.’ I said, ‘No, you’re not gonna die and I’m not gonna hear that.’ She goes, ‘Yes, I am. You’re so stupid, how are you gonna make it by yourself?’ It has brought us closer.’
Beth and Dog want to reiterate the point that ‘early detection is key [to] this whole disease.’ She went on to say that it is not just cigarettes that cause cancer but also diet, stress and a host of other factors.
Beth said: ‘there were so many contributing factors but in my mind, my stress level was beyond what a normal person endures. Early detection is everything. You cannot play games with your health.’
