The country legend offered details about her recuperation with fans before her death.

A year after announcing she was taking time to “slow down” and focus on her health, Dolly Parton died on Aug. 25, 2026. The country music singer was 80 years old.

She died after being diagnosed with cancer, her estate said in an Aug. 25 statement. Parton had not publicly disclosed before that she’d been getting treatment for the illness.

“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement read in part.

In the days before her death, Parton did disclose some details about the health challenges that caused her to step away from the stage in recent months.

Fans first began to worry about the music legend’s wellbeing when she postponed her Las Vegas residency in September 2025 due to “health challenges,” she said at the time.

She later shared in March 2026 at the opening day celebration for Dollywood’s 41st season that “I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them.”

“I just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl and a lot of other little things going on,” Parton said, referencing the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean.

“I just got myself kind of where I needed to build myself back up spiritually, emotionally, and physically. But, all is good. It didn’t slow me down.”

In a longer announcement on her Instagram page in May, she offered more details. “I have some good news and a little bad news,” Parton said in the video posted May 4, 2026.

“The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day. Now, the bad news is it’s going to take me a little while before I’m up to stage-performance level.”

At the time, she also announced she was canceling her Las Vegas residency.

Although she wasn’t performing, Parton insisted she was still grinding, working on a Broadway musical and opening a hotel and museum in Nashville, all while recovering and giving her health the attention it deserved.

In the days leading up to her death, Parton continued to address the ongoing health concerns. Here’s what she shared.

She Was Going Through ‘Hard Times’

In an Aug. 21 interview with People, Parton said she was going through some “hard times with my health.”

Before Dean’s death, she’d focused her attention on his health, she said. As a result, she was “dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she told the outlet.

No stranger to health struggles, Parton dealt with surgeries, kidney stones, a hysterectomy and suicidal ideation over the years. Parton said this time, however, she was going through it with a social media spotlight on her that never dimmed.

“But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago,” she told People of the concern over her health.

“I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI,” she added.

She Felt ‘Dizzy’ and ‘Dehydrated’

To maintain face time with her supporters, Parton was working with a team to develop an avatar of herself to stand in for her at appearances and events she couldn’t attend, she told People.

Until that came to fruition, she recorded videos. At the opening of a new Dollywood theme park ride, the NightFlight Expedition, on Aug. 14, Parton joined attendees from a screen. In a video message projected at the event, Parton revealed that she sometimes gets “a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated.”

But she assured fans that she was getting better.

“All is going well on the medical end of things, and I continue working away on all our other projects.” She wished Dollywood guests well and promised to see them “down the road.”

She Died After a “Brief Battle With Cancer”

In an Aug. 25 statement several hours after Parton’s death was announced, her team revealed that her cause of death was cancer and that she’d been a patient at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Tennessee.

“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement from Team Dolly read.

“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”

Vanderbilt Health later honored Parton in a press release, noting her financial contributions to pediatric cancer and infectious disease research, including a $1 million donation that helped create the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

In a Facebook post, Parton’s sister, Stella, revealed Parton’s doctors turned to experimental drugs to treat her cancer. “What the world saw is exactly who she was,” Stella’s post reads, “so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.”

What Kind of Cancer Did Dolly Parton Have?

The Team Dolly statement did not specify what kind of cancer she had.

Parton had previously dealt with health issues relating to her kidneys, immune system and digestive system, and had undergone a hysterectomy. But it is not clear if her cancer diagnosis was connected to any of these conditions.