Inside Dolly Parton's health battles following country legend's death with cancer

News of Dolly Parton’s death has sent shockwaves around the world, with the singer having spent decades of her life – and a particularly intense final year – in ill health.While Parton, who turned 80 in January, was well known for her dogged work ethic and frequent public appearances throughout her later life, the “Jolene” performer faced many health complications over the decades.Parton performed throughout her later life, despite struggling with her healthPA ArchiveParton pointed out that “it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health”, as she looked back on her history of health struggles that began in the early 1980s, when she was “down for several months with female issues”.At the time, Parton was suffering from major abdominal pain and haemorrhaging, leading to her spending a lot of time in hospital and having several surgeries.She was later diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, with the year 1982 marked the first time Parton would cancel a tour due to her health,In 1985, Parton underwent a partial hysterectomy aged 36, meaning she and Dean never had children.Parton in 1983, at the height of what she branded her “female issues”AFP/GettyAll these physical health problems took a major toll on Parton’s mental health, with Parton revealing in a 2017 interview: ”I was 35 when I first got sick. I went to the very bottom as far as my emotions and my health are concerned.“I was getting away with murder. I wasn’t watching what I ate, I wasn’t conscious of nutrition, wasn’t taking care of myself. I was working hard, and underneath I was a pile of personal and emotional problems… All at once I fell apart.”Parton spoke frankly about this period throughout her life, saying in a 2004 interview: “People don’t realise that we – we meaning people in show business – have the same problems as everyone else.”Her physical health next impacted her work in 2008, when Parton had to postpone part of her US tour after she bent over and “popped a disk” in her lower back. In 2015, Parton had kidney stones removed, revealing this information only to shut down rumours that she had stomach cancer.On stage in 2008 as part of her Backwoods Barbie concert tour; Parton postponed the US leg due to back problemsAFP/GettyHowever, it was over the last year – and in the wake of the death of her husband of nearly 60 years – that things began to ramp up for Parton when it came to her health.Read MoreLast September, Parton pulled out of an event at her Tennessee theme park, Dollywood, citing kidney stones once more as she explained that doctors had advised against her travelling so should recover.Months later, Parton postponed her upcoming Las Vegas residency due to “health challenges”, and in May, it was cancelled altogether.“The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments and I’m improving every day,” Parton said at the time. “I’m doing really well, and they assure me that everything I have is treatable, so I’m going with that, and I just want you to know I thank you for standing by me and that I will always love you.”Parton was still making public appearances throughout her later yearsGettyParton appeared virtually (rather than in person, as planned) at Dollywood earlier this month, where she told attendees in a pre-recorded video: “Sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated. And so my Nashville doctor clipped my wings, saying you ain’t traveling this week.”One week later, she explained that while she did have problems with her health, thinks had been amplified because of social media.“I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago. I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI,” she told People. “Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’.”According to TMZ, Parton was admitted to hospital, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, with kidney and autoimmune issues five days before her death.In a statement following her death, Parton’s publicist Marcel Pariseau said: “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”