Manilow confirmed the cancer had been found at an early stage after having a precautionary MRI to check a spell of bronchitis had cleared up
By Emma Wilkes 22nd December 2025
Barry Manilow. Credit: Mat Hayward/Getty
Barry Manilow has confirmed he will be having surgery to remove a “cancerous spot” found on his lung.
The singer had been suffering from bronchitis for several weeks and the cancer was caught out of “pure luck” on a precautionary MRI scan. He confirmed the cancer had been caught early enough for him to not need chemotherapy or radiation.
In a statement on Instagram, he said: “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 it was found so early. That’s the good news.”View this post on InstagramAdvertisement
Manilow said that he will need to reschedule his arena shows planned for January so that he has time to recover, but is “counting down the days” until he can return to performing. The rescheduled shows will take place between February and April 2026. “The doctors do not believe it has spread and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis,” he continued. “So that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns.”] Prior to these shows, Manilow had been playing his final US arena tour. He also played what were billed as his final UK dates last year, including a residency at the London Palladium.
When announcing these shows, he wrote: “In 1978, The London Palladium is where I began my love affair with the British public. These shows will be my last full concerts in Britain and I wanted to end where I began – at the London Palladium.”