Barry Manilow To Undergo Surgery After Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Barry Manilow has shared that he has been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer.

In a message to fans shared on Monday afternoon, the Can’t Smile Without You crooner explained that he’d recently been through “six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks”.

As a result of this, his doctor encouraged him to undergo an MRI exam “just to make sure that everything was OK”.

He explained: “The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed,” he explained. “It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early. That’s the good news.”

“The bad news,” he continued, is that he has to undergo surgery to have this cancerous spot removed, although he noted that doctors “do not believe” that the cancer has spread, and he’s to undergo tests to confirm this.

“So, that’s it,” the 82-year-old noted. “No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns.”

Barry then apologised to fans who had been due to see him perform live in January, as these shows have now been rescheduled, but said he hopes to back back performing at what he described at his “home away from home” in Las Vegas by Valentine’s Day weekend.

“Something tells me that February weekend is going to be one big party!” he enthused.

See Barry Manilow’s full statement for yourself here.

The Grammy winner recently completed a run of Christmas concerts, which he was in the middle of when he was informed of his cancer diagnosis.

Next year, he’s scheduled to hit the road for a six-date arena tour of Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff Birmingham and London, culminating in a show at the O2 Arena, for what he had previously billed as his “Last Last Concerts” in the UK.