Duane Dog Chapman’s New Health Scare, Just Months After Beth Chapman’s Tragic Death From Lung Cancer

Television star Chapman had a very frightening medical emergency in September after reporting chest pains, which doctors discovered were caused by pulmonary embolism, a blockage in the arteries of the lungs. It’s a very dangerous condition and Dog was instructed to make significant changes to his lifestyle,

At the time of his health scare, Dog said the pains were caused by a "broken heart." Just three months after Beth died of complications from throat cancer that came back in her lungs, he was still, understandably, struggling.

In an interview with SurvivorNet Dog was very candid about his grief at losing Beth and Dog’s daughter Bonnie told SurvivorNet that, "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. 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. And that was the last moment that we really saw her completely conscious."

"She wanted to be strong, to keep up that motivation to continue dealing with life," Bonnie said about her mother's resilience, pausing before adding that, when Beth did ultimately die of cancer, Bonnie worried that her devoted fans would lose hope.

Dog’s Pulmonary Embolism Is Treatable

The pulmonary embolism which Dog suffers from is treatable. Medications that prevent clots, or anticoagulants, are often given. In some cases, surgery is also a possibility.

The SurvivorNet community continues to be concerned with Dog’s wellbeing, often wondering who is helping him care for himself?

The Chapmans have told us that the support has made a huge difference.

"I sent out a tweet, 'Please pray for Beth. She needs the support.' And she woke up the next day and there were 2,000 people saying 'we're in your corner,' and she read every one of them to me out loud… it was incredible. So I could see that the fans were also keeping her alive. The fans and friends were writing her and saying nice things about her and it was helping her out. I saw that… So I started pumping the publicity for the fans. We call them the 'Dog Pound.' It was like, 'We love you, Beth. We're not gonna let you die.' I mean, that's what helped her fight this terrible thing."

When SurvivorNet asked Dog if he had any advice or messages to share with caregivers supporting a loved one through a difficult cancer journey, he jumped in quickly with a clarification he wanted to make.

"I was never a caregiver; I was a husband," he said emphatically.

 

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