Dolly Parton‘s sister, Stella Parton, is reflecting on the late singer-songwriter choosing to keep her battle with cancer private and her family’s choice not to disclose the type of cancer.
While Stella Parton echoed what other relatives have said about Dolly Parton not wanting to share her cancer diagnosis publicly because she didn’t want to worry her fans, she added, in an interview with Gayle King that aired on CBS Mornings Thursday, that the family is also choosing not to share what kind of cancer Dolly Parton was battling because they got the sense Dolly Parton wanted to keep it private.
“Well that was her business,” Stella Parton said. When King asked if Dolly Parton had asked the family to not disclose the type of cancer, Stella Parton clarified, “No, but she didn’t tell us that we could say so. … It’s not my business to tell her business.”
Dolly Parton died at the age of 80 on Aug. 25 after unspecified health struggles that her reps later said was a “brief battle with cancer.”
King also asked Stella Parton about Dolly’s other sister Freida Parton’s Facebook post last fall that said she was “up all night praying” for Dolly Parton, which sparked concern among Dolly Parton’s fans that her health was worth than it seemed. After Freida’s post and Dolly Parton canceling a couple of high-profile public appearances last fall, she took to Instagram to reassure fans that she “ain’t dead yet.”
