In the months before Beth Chapman’s death, she decided to stop chemotherapy and use alternative treatments to deal with her stage IV lung cancer instead. On the Oct. 2 episode of Dog’s Most Wanted, we got to see her come to that difficult decision. “Yesterday, Beth had an appointment and the doctor said there’s no chance of survival,” her husband, Dog The Bounty Hunter, explained. “[He said], you have an incurable disease. I wanted to slap him in the mouth. That’s why I don’t go to these doctors — because most of them are full of crap.”
Following the appointment, Dog and Beth had a serious conversation about what treatment she should pursue in the future. “I just don’t like doctors that tell you — [the chemo] might work, probably not,” Dog told his wife. “If it kills the cancer, or stops it, it will kill other portions of your body. So, you can either have a quality of life…or what? Quantity.” Beth was noticeably discouraged. “They told me 12-15 months [when I was first diagnosed],” she said. “I shouldn’t be feeling like this at three months in.” When Dog asked for clarification that Beth was feeling “bad,” she responded, “Yes, Duane.”
“I pretty much gave up chemo,” Beth revealed. “So, if you’re not going to do chemo, you have to find something else. If you don’t find something else, then it’s only a matter of time before it just spreads and eats you alive.” While coming up with a treatment option was obviously a priority, though, Dog wanted to also make sure that Beth’s mind was in a good place, so he decided to get her back to work on another bounty hunt.
“She feels better, she’s smiling when she’s on the hunt,” Dog said. “No matter what she says…we’re going hunting. She came to me last night and said, you know what…this could be my last days of life. So this one’s for Beth.” Dog, Beth and the crew were successful in, not just one, but two hunts, and he was thrilled to see how much better she seemed afterward.
Beth got another pick-me-up at the end of the episode, too. Dog’s grandson, Dakota, whose dad, Leland, is from one of the 66-year-old’s previous relationships, welcomed a baby, and Beth had the chance to meet him! The baby was actually born six weeks early, and Beth had an emotional moment when she realized that she may not have lived long enough to meet the newborn if he was born on his actual due date. There were tears, but they were happy tears!