Singer Barry Manilow announced Monday he has lung cancer.
As a result of his diagnosis, the 82-year-old singer-songwriter will reschedule his shows in January in order to have surgery, NBC Newsreported.
He announced his cancer diagnosis in a statement on Instagram.
He explained he recently had bronchitis twice for multiple weeks. His doctor ordered an MRI.
“As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks. Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK,” Manilow said in the statement.
“The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed,” he wrote.
“It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early,” he said. “The doctors do not believe it has spread, and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis,” he said.
“So, that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns,” he continued.
Manilow is “going into surgery to have the spot removed.” This has forced him to reschedule the January shows on his Christmas: A Gift of Love concerts.
Manilow told fans he will be back to work by February and intends to perform Valentine’s Day weekend in Las Vegas,
where he has a lifetime residency.
“I’m very sorry that you have to change your plans,” he said.
“Just like you, we were all looking forward to the January shows and hate having to move everything around,” he added. “In the meantime, I’m counting the days until I return to my home away from home at the Westgate Las Vegas for our Valentine’s weekend concerts on February 12-13-14 and throughout 2026. Something tells me that February weekend is going to be one big party.”
The singer is known for such songs as “Mandy,” “Copacabana (At the Copa),” “I Write the Songs” and “Looks Like We Made It.”
