Music Legend Barry Manilow to Undergo Surgery for Lung Cancer.

Barry Manilow announced that he was diagnosed with a cancerous growth in his lung and will undergo surgery.

Early-Stage Diagnosis

The legendary 82-year-old artist, famous for his series of beloved anthems from "Copacabana" cemented his status as one of pop music’s cherished performers, will have an operation to extract a portion of his lung in an effort to combat the disease, which is detected early.

“For those who have been following, I recently went through six weeks of a severe cough followed by a recurrence of another five weeks.

“Despite the fact that I was recovered from the illness and returned to the spotlight in Las Vegas, my excellent physician ordered an MRI just to be certain that everything was OK.

“The MRI detected a malignant lesion on my lung that requires removed. It’s sheer fortune (and a great doctor) that it was discovered so early.”

Rescheduled Shows

He has rescheduled a string of forthcoming concerts, but indicated he would be returning to perform by Valentine’s Day for his long-running concert series at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino.

He went on to say: “The doctors do not believe it has spread and I’m undergoing further tests to verify their assessment. So, that’s it. No chemo. Radiation therapy is off the table. Just home remedies and favorite shows.

“I’m looking forward to until I come back to my second home at the Westgate Las Vegas for our February love-themed shows.”

Decades in the Spotlight

Manilow is currently in the 16th year of a residency on the Las Vegas Strip. The singer has enjoyed a career spanning many years in the spotlight and revealed he is gay in 2017, after wedding his partner of many years, Garry Kief privately in 2014.

The couple were in a private romance for more than 35 years. In 2023, Manilow reflected on how vital Kief had been to him during his rise to peak fame in the 1970s.

“During my rapid rise to fame, it was just overwhelming. And, you know, going back to an vacant room, you can land in a lot of trouble if you, you know, you’re alone evening after evening,” he said.

“But I found my partner 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 share sorrows with or to enjoy success with.

“I desire that newcomers today don’t have to go back to those hotel rooms by themselves, because you might succumb to pitfalls. I never did. But it was very solitary until I met Garry. And then it was joyful.”