Dolly Parton’s little sister Stella Parton has revealed the country music icon asked her medical team to try experimental drugs on her to help future cancer patients battle their own health struggles.
“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, Stella Parton said in an emotional Facebook tribute.
She insisted the late icon got to heaven “right on time” on Tuesday, when Dolly Parton’s death after a brief battle with cancer was revealed. The music legend was admitted to the hospital in Nashville late last week after dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues.
Stella Parton said her sister’s 11th hour medical request that her doctors be allowed to test possibly future drugs to battle cancer was in keeping with her lifetime of trying to help others. “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,” Stella Parton wrote.
The elder Parton revealed in September that she was postponing a set of Las Vegas concerts to deal with “some health challenges.” In the past few months, the country music legend put on a brave front, telling her fans that she was OK. Her husband of nearly 58 years, businessman Carl Dean, died at age 82 on March 3, 2025.
