As a television personality bravely battling cancer, beloved bounty hunter, mom and reality TV star Beth Chapman has been buoyed by her legions of supportive fans, as well as by her Christian faith. But sometimes these fans can turn into trolls, and on Wednesday Beth shared her struggle with one fan whose harassing behavior had actually made Beth’s cancer journey more arduous.
On Twitter, Beth shared attack messages from the female troll who declared her “nothing but a TV personality.”
She wants attention she texts me all her problems like I'm her Dr. I didn't mind at first but then she becoming demanding and ugly so blocked ! Bye Felicia https://t.co/kicL4BmjxH
Read MoreBeth Chapman (@MrsdogC) May 22, 2019 The troll, Beth remarked, treats Beth like her personal doctor, desperately deluging Beth with her tales of woe. And finally, Beth– who recently said she’s in the fight of her life with Stage 4 lung cancer — couldn’t take it anymore, and sadly was forced to block the troll.“Done, done done!” said Beth, urging her many followers also to “block demanding trolls” who “bully me into talking to them” and who make “harassing statements”.
She was blocked for these kinda harassing statements she sends me long dms about how she's Battered woman but then flys into rages if you don't immediately get back to her done done done block trolls and demanding fans who think they can bully me into talking to them @PhaidraZ https://t.co/ZSPMvlKhaI pic.twitter.com/rNtJsmFYs9
Beth Chapman (@MrsdogC) May 22, 2019
A fan, who appears to be a bail bondsperson, fired back in defense of Beth, saying, “Not sure what evil troll Planet you are living on but a fake TV personality she is not! Her shows have been on the air for 15 plus years thinking you to go back and do your homework troll.”
“Please stop opening your mouth about things you don’t know,” she continued. “I have known them both personally for years and I can assure you they’re about as real as it gets. Perhaps you should find something better to do with your time than to pick on people with cancer.”
Then, still more of Beth’s many fans chimed in with support for her.
“My prayers are with you Beth ,in Jesus name, amen,” one fan wrote.
“You shouldn't have to put up with this,” another fan wrote. “PERIOD! I know the #DogPound will have your back! Anyone who even just kind of knows you, knows that you give your heart to your fans & are willing to help when needed. You have mentored & changed many lives for the better!”
Hopefully, Beth will be able to draw on this strong support from her fan base in her struggle with trolling. Indeed, the confrontation with the harassing troll is the latest challenge for Beth on her cancer journey, one she’s bravely made public.
Beth is currently battling cancer for a second time. She was first diagnosed with throat cancer in September of 2017, but she had surgery at the time and was declared cancer free. She was again diagnosed at the end of 2018, this time with Stage 4 lung cancer. Even though Beth has been really open about the struggles of battling cancer in the public eye, she has not been totally clear about how she is being treated.
Beth has been going through her cancer journey for a long time, and we still don't know all the details, but we do know that there are a few types of throat cancer, and that some kinds are totally curable. "Hopefully, [the cancer is] just involved in the neck and in the lymph nodes because if that's the case, then we can use our treatments to cure the cancer," says Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist specializing in head and neck cancer at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center. "But if the PET scan shows that the cancer has moved to the lungs or the liver, then our approach would not be to cure cancer but to treat it and to keep it under control."
From Beth's and Dog's public comments, it does appear her Stage 4 cancer has spread.
"Patients who have disease that has spread outside of the head and neck region, meaning below the clavicles, into the lungs or into the liver, we call that distant metastatic disease and by definition those patients are considered incurable," Dr. Geiger continues, "So our efforts at treatment would be focused on palliative therapy, controlling the disease but, unfortunately, not curing it." Dr. Geiger was not specifically discussing Beth's case.
Often, throat cancer is caused by HPV, or human papillomavirus. It usually goes away by itself, but sometimes it leads to other diseases. "The most common type of head and neck cancer patients that we see are patients who have HPV-related throat cancer. So this is cancer that starts in the back of the throat such as in the tonsils or the base of the tongue," says Dr. Geiger. "They often don't present with symptoms until they have lymph nodes in the neck that are involved. So they come in because they have a neck mass that they felt just incidentally, with or without pain. Sometimes they have a sore throat, but sometimes all they have is a painless neck mass."
"The most common symptoms for throat cancer are a painless neck mass that the patient may just feel when they're shaving or washing their face. Sometimes it's painful, but a lot of times they don't feel anything except just a lump there, and that brings them to the attention of their doctors," says Dr. Geiger, "Their doctors often then will order imaging such as an ultrasound of the neck or a CAT scan and we can see the mass there."
As for Beth, she’s continued working hard despite her cancer battle. A photographer, perhaps working with Beth on her new show “Dog’s Most Wanted”, just posted a picture of himself with a hale and hearty looking Beth.
“Beth Chapman is … truly inspiring to watch,” wrote Kevin Reese.
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