Taylor Swift’s parents have been her biggest fans from Day One. In turn, she’s also Andrea and Scott Swift’s most loyal supporter. Taylor proved that when she put a pause on her busy schedule to be next to Papa Swift when he underwent a major heart surgery in June. This isn’t the first time Scott has faced health issues. In a March 2019 essay for Elle, Taylor revealed her father had previously been diagnosed with cancer, though she didn’t specify which kind or any other details.

Later that year, she shared that she was a teenager when her father received the diagnosis, meaning Scott was in his late 30s. The experience marked a turning point for Taylor, who had never dealt with something so big in her life. Luckily, he made a full recovery. “My dad got cancer when was 13 and he got better and it wasn’t a very long process,” she said in her Lover Secret Session (via iHeart). Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the only tragedy to strike the Swift household. 

In 2015, Taylor’s mom was also diagnosed with cancer. This time, the situation appeared to be more serious. While treatment was initially successful, the cancer returned in 2019. The pop star dealt with her pain the only way she knows how: by writing a song. “The buttons of my coat were tangled in my hair / In doctor’s-office-lighting, I didn’t tell you I was scared,” the lyrics to “Soon You’ll Get Better” read. Now, Taylor had to face her fears once more.

Scott Swift had no symptoms when he learned his heart was in bad shape. At 73, Taylor Swift’s father had gone in for a routine checkup when doctors informed him he required a quintuple bypass surgery, according to a July TMZ report. That means five arteries that supply blood to the heart were severely blocked. During the three- to four-hour procedure, doctors remove tissue from other parts of the body to reconstruct new pathways for blood to flow around the blockage.

Scott didn’t have a heart attack, the report noted, and bypass surgery can help prevent one. The procedure can also improve chest pain and other heart-related symptoms, though Scott reportedly felt no discomfort before his exam. Taylor was by Scott’s side during his hospital stay and in the aftermath, as were her brother, Austin, and her mother, Andrea. Despite Scott and Andrea Swift’s hush-hush divorce, they remain supportive of each other. Scott recovered well from the complex procedure and is feeling like his old self, TMZ reported.

Taylor hasn’t publicly addressed her father’s latest health scare, but she previously opened up about the lessons she learned from facing her parents’ cancer diagnoses. “It’s taught me that there are real problems and then there’s everything else,” she wrote in her Elle essay. “My mom’s cancer is a real problem. I used to be so anxious about daily ups and downs. I give all of my worry, stress, and prayers to real problems now.”