Danielle Parton says she is going through a little bit of a cancer battle right now, and that her aunt Dolly Parton took the news hard. Speaking to Extra, she said her own stage zero diagnosis was caught early while Dolly was dealing with cancer too.
Danielle Parton and August 6
“I'm going through a little bit of a cancer battle myself right now. I'm okay. Stage zero, caught it early, getting it done. But she took it really heavy, and that's how I figured out. I didn't know, like anybody else, what she was dealing with. I knew she was sick,” Danielle Parton said. She added, “I think it was around August 6 when I talked to her, and I figured out that she was dealing with cancer most likely at that point.”
Dolly Parton and Bobby
Danielle Parton is the daughter of Bobby, Dolly Parton's older brother, and she said the reaction from Dolly Parton came fast once the diagnosis landed. “Look, you gotta get it together. It ain't that deep,” she said she told her aunt, a line that cuts through the usual polished family-language and shows how direct the conversation became.
CMA celebration in Nashville
Danielle Parton was in the audience at the CMA celebration in Nashville honoring Dolly Parton, and she said the night still left her overwhelmed by the response. She also said she has always known Dolly Parton was a huge star, but seeing the outpouring of love made the moment feel bigger than the tribute itself.
Aunt Granny and the reaction
Danielle Parton said Dolly Parton worried more about everybody else before she would ever let you know anything was wrong with her. That is the sharper story here: two cancer battles moved through the same family at the same time, and Dolly Parton was apparently focused outward even while dealing with her own illness. Danielle Parton did not identify what kind of cancer Dolly Parton was fighting, and the latest word from her own side is simple enough — she says she is okay and getting it done.
