Dolly Parton is taking some time to “slow down” and focus on her health.
On Sept. 28, the country singer announced that she was postponing her upcoming concerts in Las Vegas due to “health challenges.”
The 79-year-old revealed she will be undergoing “a few procedures,” per her doctors’ orders, but did not elaborate on any specifics about her condition.
As fans continue to send Parton well wishes for a speedy recovery, we’re taking a look back at the health matters the singer has addressed publicly over the years.
Parton Has Been Open About The Plastic Surgery Procedures She’s Undergone
Parton hasn’t shied away from discussing her penchant for plastic surgery. In 2023, the star appeared on “The Howard Stern Show” and said she has a balanced approach when it comes to undergoing anti-aging procedures.
“You’ve just got to be very careful not to overdo it because you never know. Anytime you go under the knife, you could come out looking not good,” she said.
Parton said she typically opts for fillers like Botox and Juvéderm, but “only when I have to do something.”
The key, she said, is finding the “best doctors” and understanding the risks.
“You can cover up stuff if somebody screws up things on your body but, boy, if you live with your face out there, you’ve got to be careful,” Parton stressed. “So I try to do just little bits at a time. I don’t do really big stuff.”
She’s Addressed the Grief She Experienced After the Loss of Her Husband
In March 2025, Parton announced that her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, had passed away. Two months later, the singer appeared live on TODAY and discussed what her life has been like since his death.
“We were together 60 years. I’ve loved him since I was 18 years old, and it’s a big adjustment just trying to change patterns and habits. I’ll do fine. I’m very involved in my work and that’s been the best thing that could happen to me. But I’ll always miss him, of course, and I’ll always love him,” she said, adding that she gets “very emotional” when people bring it up.
Parton appeared on Khloé Kardashian’s podcast, “Khloé in Wonder Land” in July 2025 and revealed that she has taken a break from writing since her husband’s death.
“Several things I’ve wanted to start, but I can’t do it,” she said. “I will later, but I’m just coming up with such wonderful, beautiful ideas. But I think I won’t finish it. I can’t do it right now, because I got so many other things and I can’t afford the luxury of getting that emotional right now.”
She’s Spoken About Her Experience with Endometriosis
Per Prevention, Parton had to cancel a tour in 1982 while she was experiencing abdominal pain and bleeding.
Parton was later diagnosed with endometriosis. Per the Cleveland Clinic, the condition occurs when “tissue that is similar to the lining of your uterus grows on other parts of your body.”
As a result, you can experience difficulty getting pregnant and/or “painful symptoms that can impact not only your menstrual cycle but also your daily life.”
In the 1980s, Parton underwent a partial hysterectomy and learned that she would never have children. According to the Mayo Clinic, the procedure involves the removal of the uterus. A total hysterectomy, on the other hand, removes the uterus and cervix.
Parton addressed the challenging experience in an interview with Closer in 2018.
“It was a really bad time,” she said, adding that she fell into a depression.
Over time, the star gained valuable perspective on the matter.
“Sometimes God just has to smack you down,” she said. “He was almost saying, ‘Sit your pretty little ass down because we have to deal with some stuff!’”
She Once Contemplated Suicide
In 2019, Parton took part in a podcast series titled “Dolly Parton’s America.” In one installment, she discussed a difficult time in the early 1980s where she considered suicide.
“I got overweight and I was going through the change of life, I was having a lot female problems, I’d been going through a whole lot of family things, just the stress, the heartache,” she said. “There was just several things going on at that time,” she added. “I was just broken down.”
The singer said she relied on her religious faith and conversations with God to get through this obstacle.
“I just said things like, ‘Look, this is ridiculous, I am not happy,’ (and) arguing about why when they say you shouldn’t commit suicide because that’s a sin you can’t get forgiven for,” she said. “Everything was just confusing to me and I was just angry and I was hurt, and I was unhappy and so I just said ‘You’re going to have to get me some answers or I’m getting out of here. And then we’ll both deal with it.’”
