Dolly Parton spent her final days receiving care from nurses and physicians at one of the nation's leading cancer centers, Nashville's Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, her nephew posted on her social media pages on Aug. 25.
The 80-year-old country music legend was hospitalized and died there after a short battle with cancer, but her family and representatives haven't disclosed the type of cancer.
Parton received treatment in the "buckle of the cancer belt," which covers seven contiguous states with the highest cancer death rates.
She has donated millions of dollars to Vanderbilt University Medical Center over the years to help with the COVID-19 vaccine, infectious disease research and the children's hospital's cancer program.
Founded in 1993, the
cancer center is located on Vanderbilt's medical campus near Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital. It is one of a select group of cancer centers nationwide to earn the National Cancer Institute's "comprehensive cancer center" designation, a recognition reserved for institutions leading research, treatment and efforts to reduce the impact of cancer.
The Nashville cancer center is one of two centers in Tennessee and one of 57 in the country to earn this designation.
Dr. Cathy Eng exemplifies the caliber of physicians at Vanderbilt's cancer center. Patients travel from across the country seeking her care, drawn to a whole-person approach that combines leading-edge treatments with attention to mental health and spiritual well-being. Vanderbilt leaders wooed her from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in 2019 to establish a gastrointestinal medical oncology program and to serve as the executive director of the first cancer program centered on patients ages 20 to 45.
Vanderbilt leaders recruited Eng from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in 2019 to establish a gastrointestinal medical oncology program and to create and serve as the executive director of the first cancer program centered on patients ages 20 to 45. The team also addresses mental health, spirituality and in some cases, fertility.
Vanderbilt-Ingram is home to pioneering research and team science funded with a $155 million research base and it offers innovative treatment using a team approach, according to its website. Vanderbilt University Medical Center's history of groundbreaking discoveries includes the work of Nobel laureates Earl Sutherland and Stanley Cohen. Their research in cell communication, growth and dissemination serves as the foundation of many of today's cancer treatment breakthroughs.
Helping earn the National Cancer Institute's designation, Vanderbilt-Ingram offers special services for the emotional, psychological, physical and practical needs of cancer survivors.
"Cancer is too big a problem to be solved by one cancer center," Vanderbilt leaders posted on its website, referencing participation in the National Cancer Institute's network of designated centers.
"We are dedicated to being a partner with others who share our mission."
Beth Warren covers health care and can be reached at bwarren@tennessean.com or on X at @BethWarrenCJ.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dolly Parton spent final days at Nashville Vanderbilt's cancer center
