Dolly Parton’s Sister Stella Opens Up About Her Private Cancer Battle & Why She Hid It From Loved Ones | Just Jared

Stella Parton is opening up about her late sister, Dolly Parton‘s private cancer battle.

The 77-year-old singer made an appearance on CBS Mornings with Gayle King, revealing why her older sister hid her diagnosis from not only the world, but also friends and family.

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“Dolly did not want anybody to tell that because Dolly could not bear negative things,” Stella shared. “She would not have wanted her fans worried about it. She didn’t want a lot of the family worried about it. Some of us knew, the ones of us that were closer.”

“She did not want people sad,” she continued. “She’d be really happy and delighted that people have shown her so much love because she knew that that would make us feel better as her family. Bottom line, end of the day, her family and Carl’s family and probably Judy [Ogle]’s family are the people that she would want to say, ‘See, everything I did, they cared. They really loved me.’”

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Following Dolly‘s death, Stella paid tribute to her and noted how she was still thinking of others in her final months.

“What the world saw is exactly who she was, 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.”

She added, “My sister was always thinking of others and if you want to honor her legacy, show more kindness, lift others up and give more of your time and resources as she continued to do to the very end.”

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In the year leading up to her death, Dolly had been open about going through other health issues.

“I just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl and a lot of other little things going on,” she explained in March 2026. “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 May, she canceled her Las Vegas residency as she continued to focus on her health.

“The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day,” she said. “The bad news is it’s going to take me a little while before I’m up to stage performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say.”

Posted To:Dolly Parton Stella Parton