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Beth Eckert is a chef with esophageal cancer who seeks treatment at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.

History[]

When she was a baby, Beth had some kind of abdominal surgery. More recently in her life, Beth, a chef, went through a series of upheavals before learning that she has esophageal cancer which caused her to question her choices in life. Though her oncologist told Beth that it was a relatively easy fix and she wouldn't require a feeding tube for the rest of her life, Beth refused to believe it.

When Beth arrived at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, her surgery was originally slated to be Dr. Alex Park's first as lead surgeon. However, Chief of Surgery Dr. Audrey Lim reassigned it to Dr. Shaun Murphy due to the apparent ease of the case and Beth's friendly demeanor. After Shaun reassured Beth that the surgery wouldn't result in her losing the ability to eat, she was finally reassured as she got the news from her surgeon. However, Beth's case became more complicated when Shaun and Park discovered from an MRI that Beth's abdominal surgery as a baby would prevent the original plan from working. As a result, she would in fact have to use a feeding tube for the rest of her life. Though Lim assigned Park to give Beth the devastating news, Dr. Marcus Andrews forced Shaun to do it instead and his blunt delivery caused Beth to have Shaun taken off the case. Lim later convinced Beth to change her mind.

During the surgery, Shaun apparently had a meltdown and walked out and Lim ordered Park to finish. However, Park recognized that Shaun had seen something and was having trouble communicating it to them. Once Shaun calmed down, he revealed a Japanese procedure he had earlier learned of that could fix the problem and allow Beth to eat and not be dependent on a feeding tube for the rest of her life. However, the procedure was too complicated for Shaun himself to perform, meaning that Beth's surgery would not be his first as lead doctor. Shaun was successfully able to talk Lim and Andrews through the procedure and Lim allowed Shaun to put in the final stitch as a symbolic gesture. Beth's cancer was removed and her ability to eat preserved, but Andrews felt that while Shaun did something incredible as a diagnostician, he failed by walking out of the surgery. Lim reminded Andrews that their success with Beth was ultimately a team effort, something that was more important.

Appearances[]

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