Dolly Parton Declared 'I Ain't Dead Yet' Less Than a Year Before Passing Away After 'Brief' Cancer Battle: 'I Don't Think God Is Through With Me'

Dolly Parton told fans she "ain't dead yet" in a video shared less than a year before she died.

Parton died at 80, as announced by her family on August 25, after a brief battle with cancer and ongoing "kidney and autoimmune issues."

In October 2025, Parton addressed rumors that she was "sicker than she was" while filming commercials for the Grand Ole Opry after rumors of her death circulated online.

"Do I look sick to you? I'm working hard here," she teased in a clip that has since resurfaced after her death.

At the time, the songstress admitted that she had been enduring some health issues after neglecting her own well-being while her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, was very sick leading up to his March 2025 death.

"I let a lot of things go that I shouldn't have," she noted, adding, "Nothing major. But I did have to cancel some things to be closer to Vanderbilt, where I'm having a few treatments here and there."

Parton recently canceled appearances at Dollywood and her upcoming Las Vegas residency amid her own health struggles.

But less than a year prior, Parton wanted fans to know: "I ain't dead yet."

"I figured if you heard it from me, you would know that I was okay," she gushed, adding, "I'm not ready to die yet. I don't think God is through with me and I ain't done working."

After she passed away, her family revealed she had been undergoing treatment following a short stint with cancer while "surrounded by loved ones at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville."

Parton's nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death on her social media in a heartfelt video message to fans.

"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he shared. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now."

"It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness," he added. "But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens."

Just days before she passed away, Parton reassured fans about the status of her health, even noting that she intended to work until she died.

"Even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’!" Parton declared at the time. "You know me — as I’ve often said — I’ve dreamed myself into a corner and I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I’m gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life."