Barry Manilow is talking bluntly about a lung cancer scare he never saw coming—and how it forced him to reassess everything. The 82-year-old singer tells People he learned he had stage 1 lung cancer late last year after a doctor, investigating hip pain and recent bouts of bronchitis, ordered an MRI that happened to catch a tiny spot on his lung. "If he hadn't done that … he saved my life, because there's no symptoms for what I had," Manilow says, adding that he initially reacted with disbelief to the word "cancer."
Within weeks, Manilow underwent a lobectomy to remove part of his left lung, spent seven days in the ICU—an experience he calls a "nightmare"—and is now cancer free without needing chemo or radiation. "I'm one of the lucky ones," he says. Supported by husband and manager Garry Kief, loved ones, and "Fanilows," Manilow says the ordeal "stopped me in my tracks," made him take stock of his life, and left him focused on recovery and learning "how to breathe again." "This really rocked me, but I'm getting stronger," he says.
Manilow, who is still recovering from treatment, is preparing his 33rd studio album, "What a Time," out June 5, and celebrating a new top 10 adult contemporary single, extending his chart run to six straight decades. He postponed concerts after the diagnosis but his rescheduled farewell tour is scheduled to kick off April 13 at the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York, Rolling Stone reports.
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