Three years later, during a dental examination in February 1959, a growth was discovered on her jaw. Not long afterwards, Davies was diagnosed with cancer. Davies made her last public appearance on January 10, 1960, on an NBC television special entitled "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood". During this same period, Joseph P. Kennedy rented Davies' mansion and worked from behind the scenes to secure his son John F. Kennedy's nomination during the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. When Joseph P. Kennedy learned Davies was dying of cancer, he "had three cancer specialists flown out" to examine her.