Music legend Barry Manilow, 82, has revealed he is suffering from lung cancer. The Could Be Magic singer updated fans online on Monday (December 22) as he shared his heart-breaking diagnosis.
The star’s statement was posted early in the morning and read: “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.
“The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that is was found so early. That’s the good news.”
(Image: Getty Images)
He continued: “The bad news is that now that the Christmas Gift Of Love concerts are over I’m going into surgery to have the spit removed.
“The doctors do not believe it has spread and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis. So that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns.”
Before adding: “The only follow-up is a month to recover and that means we have to reschedule the January arena concerts.”
(Image: NBC)
The singer then posted a new schedule with the tour dates for next year which he is hoping to be able to perform at.
This isn’t Barry’s first bout of ill health over his career, as he has suffered from numerous conditions including vocal cord issues, bronchial infections and throat cancer.
He was lucky enough to overcome all issues due to early detection but previously did open up about starting smoking at age nine.
He told The Independent in 2012: “Well I smoked for 30 years. I started when I was nine years old. I grew up in Brooklyn.
“Then I stopped about 15, 20 years ago. Then I just started in Las Vegas and the band and I went down to a little club and somebody offered me a cigarette. And I was back.
“Within a week I was back. Not on a pack a day, cause when I was really smoking I was on three packs a day – non filters. Oh yeah. I was a great smoker.”
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