Music Legend Barry Manilow Will Have an Operation for Lung Cancer.
Barry Manilow has revealed that he has been diagnosed with a cancerous growth in his lung and will be having surgery.
Spot Found in Initial Phase
The legendary 82-year-old artist, whose parade of upbeat chart-toppers from "Mandy" established him as one of pop music’s enduringly popular performers, will have surgery to extract a portion of his lung in an effort to combat the condition, which is detected early.
“For those who have been following, I recently endured six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks.
“Although I was past the infection and performing again in Las Vegas, my excellent physician requested an MRI just to ensure that there were no issues.
“The MRI identified a malignant lesion on my left side that requires removed. It’s incredible chance (and a great doctor) that it was caught so early.”
Postponed Performances
He has rescheduled a string of upcoming live performances, but indicated he would be returning to perform by mid-February for his long-running residency at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino.
He went on to say: “The doctors do not believe it has metastasized and I’m undergoing further tests to confirm their diagnosis. So, that’s it. Chemo is not needed. No radiotherapy. Just chicken soup and favorite shows.
“I’m counting the days until I come back to my home away from home for our Vegas run for our special weekend performances.”
Decades in the Spotlight
Manilow is now in the 16th year of a concert series in Nevada. The singer has enjoyed a career spanning many years in the public eye and revealed he is gay in 2017, after marrying his partner of many years, Garry Kief confidentially in 2014.
The duo were in a clandestine romance for over 35 years. Recently, Manilow spoke about how important Kief had been to him during his ascent to stardom in the 1970s.
“As my career exploded, it was just crazy. And, you know, returning to an vacant room, you can find yourself in a lot of trouble if you, you know, you’re by yourself night after night,” he said.
“But I encountered my future husband right around when it was taking off. And I was spared from having 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 rooms by themselves, because you get yourself in trouble. I never did. But it was very solitary until I met Garry. And then it was a shared adventure.”
