Barry Manilow Scheduled for Surgery for Cancer in His Lung.

Barry Manilow announced that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer and will undergo surgery.

Early-Stage Diagnosis

The legendary 82-year-old artist, whose parade of upbeat chart-toppers from "I Write the Songs" cemented his status as one of pop music’s enduringly popular performers, will have a procedure to extract a portion of his lung in an effort to treat the condition, which is at an early phase.

“For those who have been following, I recently suffered from six weeks of a bronchial infection followed by a relapse of another five weeks.

“Despite the fact that I was past the infection and returned to the spotlight in Las Vegas, my excellent physician requested an MRI just to be certain that all was clear.

“The MRI identified a cancerous spot on my lung that requires removed. It’s pure luck (and a fantastic physician) that it was caught so early.”

Rescheduled Shows

He has rescheduled a series of upcoming shows, but suggested he would be on stage again by mid-February for his longstanding concert series at his Vegas home.

He continued: “The medical team do not believe it has metastasized and I’m having examinations to support their conclusion. So, that’s it. No chemo. Radiation therapy is off the table. Just home remedies and I Love Lucy reruns.

“I’m counting the days until I rejoin my familiar venue for our Vegas run for our February love-themed shows.”

Professional and Personal Journey

Manilow is currently in the 16th year of a residency in Nevada. The singer has enjoyed a career spanning many years in the limelight and revealed he is gay in 2017, after tying the knot with his manager and long-term partner confidentially in 2014.

The pair were in a private partnership for over 35 years. Recently, Manilow reflected on how crucial his partner had been to him during his ascent to stardom in the 1970s.

“As my career exploded, it was just overwhelming. And, you know, coming home to an vacant room, you can get into a lot of problems if you, you know, you’re by yourself repeatedly,” he said.

“But I met Garry right around when it was blowing up. And I didn’t have to go back to those empty hotel rooms. I had a person to be vulnerable with or to celebrate with.

“I hope that aspiring artists don’t have to go back to those hotel rooms by themselves, because you can make poor choices. I never did. But it was pretty lonely until I met Garry. And then it was a shared adventure.”