Barry Manilow is famous for hit songs like “Could It Be Magic,” “Looks Like We Made It,” “Mandy” and “Copacabana.” Beyond that, he’s recently released new music and embarked on a “farewell tour.” This comes as the star is opening up about being diagnosed with lung cancer and his subsequent treatment.
“In December, the music icon, 82, revealed that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was undergoing treatment,” according to People. Now, Manilow “is detailing the experience for the first time.”
Manilow Initially Thought He Wouldn’t Survive Lung Cancer
“You just don’t even think about [how fragile life is],” Manilow told People during a new interview. “And suddenly, you have lung cancer. But I’m still here. I’m not all here; there’s part of me that isn’t here — they took out a part of me, and now I’ve got to figure out, ‘What do I do?’”
People explains that, “[i]n November, Manilow’s hips were bothering him, so he went to the doctor, who ordered an MRI for his pelvis, then for his lungs when he learned the singer had recently weathered two bouts of bronchitis.”
“If he hadn’t done that, man … He saved my life, because there’s no symptoms for what I had. I could go on, nothing hurt — but they found the dot in my lung,” Manilow said. “They called me and said, ‘Could be cancer.’ That’s a bad word. ‘Not me. F— you. I can’t have cancer.’”
Following additional tests, doctors confirmed that Manilow had stage 1 lung cancer.
“They don’t even know how long I had this thing sitting on me. It could have been years,” he noted. “If it had gone any further, then I would be up s—’s creek. It just so happened that it hadn’t spread, and boy oh boy, I thought I might be dying.”
Manilow Is Now ‘Getting Stronger’
GettyA month after being diagnosed with lung cancer, Manilow found himself in the hospital to “undergo a lobectomy to remove the diseased part of the lung,” per People. That was followed by a seven-day stay in the ICU.
“I don’t remember it, thank goodness, because it was a nightmare,” Manilow told People. “I’m one of the lucky ones; I don’t have to have chemo, radiation and all that stuff.”
Now, the star is “on a long road to recovery,” People adds, while explaining that “[t]he future of his performing career hangs in the balance as the … singer continues to recover from his cancer treatment, which resulted in the removal of one of his left lung’s two lobes, which deliver oxygen to the bloodstream. At press time, he was scheduled to resume his ongoing farewell arena tour after postponing dates amid his health crisis.”
As for Manilow, he admitted, “This really rocked me, but I’m getting stronger.”
