EXCLUSIVE: Barry Manilow's New Cancer Terror — As Crooner, 82, Derails Tour After Devastating Diagnosis
Barry Manilow faces cancer diagnosis as tour plans collapse, triggering fear around singer's health.
Feb. 3 2026, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
Beloved Copacabana crooner Barry Manilow is battling a scary new cancer crisis, RadarOnline.com can reveal
The 82-year-old What a Wonderful World singer shared the shattering news on Instagram, revealing he was forced to cancel his Christmas Gift of Love concerts in the U.S. for January to have potentially life-threatening cancerous tissue on his lung removed.
Cancer Found After Lingering Illness
Barry Manilow revealed his cancer diagnosis after weeks of illness led doctors to further medical testing.
"I'm going into surgery to have the spot removed," he revealed to fans.
"Just like you, we were all looking forward to the January shows and hate having to move everything around. I'm very sorry that you have to change your plans."
The shocking announcement comes after the Somewhere Down the Road singer was plagued with an illness that, fortunately, led docs to spot something far more serious.
"As many of you know, I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks," Manilow explained in a statement on Instagram.
"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."
Smoking Past Fuels Health Fears
Friends and fans voiced concern as Manilow's representative denied reports he battled throat cancer in 2020 amid his smoking history.
Friends and fans are concerned, given his long history of smoking and widespread reports – which Manilow's rep denied – he battled throat cancer in 2020.
"I smoked for 30 years," he confessed. "I started when I was 9 years old. Then I stopped about 15, 20 years ago."
But he started smoking again and replaced it with vaping about 10 years ago.
The brave Mandy singer previously beat bronchial pneumonia, a mouth tumor and heart problems and endured career-saving hip surgery.
Vegas Return Promised Amid Fears
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Longevity expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin said Manilow's diagnosis remains concerning despite assurances the cancer has not spread.
Still, he has promised to return to the stage in Las Vegas in February.
Although Manilow noted his doctor will take additional tests and doesn't believe the cancer has spread, insisting: "That's it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns," a medical expert told RadarOnline.com that he believes the star's diagnosis is a bad sign.
"That, combined with the damage he may have done with smoking, makes this a serious situation for him," said longevity expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin, who has not treated Manilow.
