In the lead up to her first public appearance on since her cancer-related hospitalization, scheduled for this Mother’s Day, Beth Chapman, 51, wife of Duane “Dog” the Bounty Hunter, says she’s “still alive” with a new dog tag necklace.
Her post and new neck adornment comes after cruel anonymous trolls posted a fake news video that purported to show Beth on her deathbed as Dog grieved by her side. Chapman, who was initially diagnosed with throat cancer in 2017 and learned that her cancer had spread to the lungs in 2018, received a huge outpouring of love and support.
Read MoreThe internet death hoax initially alarmed Beth's many fans who, fooled by the falsehoods, sent words of grief and sympathy to Dog and the larger Chapman family.
Naturally, some of her loving fans were distraught and commenced their grieving.
"RIP Beth Chapman," wrote one fan in twitter tribute.
Immediately after the incident, Dog posted an apparent response to the hoaxsters, invoking what he believed to be the sage words of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
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Apparently, Dog did not use a fact checker since Churchill experts say the quote itself is fake news that Churchill never said it. The quote, which has also been incorrectly ascribed to Mark Twain, has in fact appeared in various permutations over the last 200 years. But that didn't take away from the quote's meaning however, or Dog's sincere intentions.
Beth, the always energetic reality TV bounty was deeply slandered by the fake video. All through her cancer, Beth has remained chipper, optimistic and brave. She's also looked healthy and vigorous in her many postings to social media.
Chapman is still very much alive, but she was recently hospitalized for a cancer-related fluid buildup in her lungs. The most common kind of fluid buildup that can happen during lung cancer is what is called "pleural effusion," or fluid buildup around the space between the lungs and the chest wall. When this happens, the fluid can push on the lungs and create a lot of pressure.
Doctors can try to drain the fluid by inserting a needle or a tube into the affected area. They can also insert something called "talc," which helps the layers of tissue in this area stick together, and prevent fluid from building up. In the most difficult cases, doctors might opt for surgery to redirect the fluid to another part of the body, or to remove the tissue in the area.
Chapman was initially diagnosed with throat cancer in 2017. She had surgery, and was declared cancer free. But in 2018, Beth learned that her cancer had spread to the lungs and had moved to stage four, after she was rushed to the hospital for difficulty with her breathing.
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