Dolly Parton recently visited the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt to honor her niece and cancer survivor Hannah Denison. The hospital dedicated its newly named Hannah Denison Butterfly Garden during the event.
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Denison received treatment for leukemia from the hospital at only four years old. "Hannah is turning 30 on Sunday, and of course 26 years ago, Hannah was diagnosed with Leukemia," Parton says in a video posted by The Tennessean. "For five years we didn't know exactly if we were going to be keeping her or not."
Parton then announced Denison as their "chemo hero," to laughter and claps from the crowd. Parton also named a track on her recent children's album "Chemo Hero" in dedication to children fighting cancer. She released that album, I Believe In You, in 2017.
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Dolly Parton has focused much of her charitable giving on children. She counts childhood literacy and fighting childhood diabetes among her many noble causes. Upon the release of her children's album, Parton also contributed $1 million to the children's hospital that helped her niece when she was younger.
"To be here is a great honor to us," Parton says. "My family means everything to me."
After her brief comments, Parton took a few questions from the audience, which included many young cancer survivors. Questions included "Which movie makes you cry?" and "What makes you blush?"
