Barry Manilow announced that he will undergo surgery to remove a “cancerous spot” on his lung.
In a post shared on Instagram, the crooner revealed that the spot was discovered shortly after he finished his recent run of Christmas shows at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Manilow said that after recovering from six weeks of bronchitis and a five-week relapse, he went to his doctor “just to make sure everything was OK.”
“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. That’s the good news.”
The “bad news,” Manilow continued, is that he was set to undergo “surgery to have the spot removed.” But, he said, his doctors were optimistic about his current status: “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. The only follow-up is a month to recover and that means we have to reschedule the January arena concerts.”
The singer apologized to fans. “I’m very sorry you have to change your plans,” he wrote, noting how much he hates to move everything around. “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.”
Manilow was scheduled to kick off his 2026 farewell tour dates on Jan. 6 in Sunrise, Florida, with additional stops in cities like Tampa and Columbus. The rescheduled dates have yet to be announced.
In September, Manilow released a new song, “Once Before I Go,” produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Demonte Posey and written by Peter Allen and Dean Pitchford. The song was originally performed by Hugh Jackman in The Boy from Oz.
“Peter played it for me when I was living in New York,” Manilow said in a statement. “I’ve always loved it, but I was too young to be able to sing it truthfully. Out of the blue I got a phone call from my friend Clive Davis. He said, ‘Barry, have you ever heard of a song called “Once Before I Go”?’ I said, ‘Yes Clive, I know the song.’ Clive said, ‘You should record this song, Barry.’ And I did!”
