Barry Manilow shares selfie and update from hospital bed after cancer diagnosis

Barry Manilow has given an update on his health after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

The Grammy Award winner, 82, shared a photo of herself smiling as he lay in a hospital bed on Friday, January 2. Alongside the photo, Manilow assured fans on Friday that he was feeling “better today.”

Manilow was showered with positive messages and well wishes from his Instagram followers. Melanie TaylorManilow’s longtime backup singer, beamed “that’s all my boss” in the comments.

“He’s making it through the rain! I love you B,” Taylor continued.

Guns N’ Roses and The Cult alum Matt Sorum added: “Heal Barry, much love.”

‘Sending lots of love, Barry,’ drag icon Coco Peru agreed.

On December 22, Manilow made his lung cancer diagnosis public and confirmed that he would undergo surgery soon.

“As many of you know, I recently had six weeks of bronchitis, followed by a relapse for another five weeks. Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at Westgate Las Vegas, my amazing doctor ordered an MRI to make sure everything was okay,” he shared via Instagram. “The MRI found 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.”

The “Can’t Smile Without You” singer explained that he had to finish his annual Christmas concerts in December before he could schedule a date to “have the place removed.”

“The doctors don’t believe it has spread, and I’m running tests to confirm their diagnosis. So that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I love Lucy repeats,” he wrote.

The singer-songwriter announced that he needed “a month to recover” after the surgery, so he canceled planned concerts in January. (Manilow was scheduled to headline performances in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Ohio this month.)

“I am very sorry that you have to change your plans,” he wrote to fans. “Like you, we were all looking forward to the January shows and hated having to move everything.”

Looking ahead, Manilow said he plans to return to the stage for his Valentine’s Day weekend concerts at Westgate Las Vegas on February 12 and 14.

“Something tells me that the February weekend is going to be one big party!” Manilow concluded. “I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. And remember, if you have even the slightest symptom… get tested! I’ll see you at Westgate Las Vegas for Valentine’s Day!”

Manilow has been open about his smoking habit over the years. He told it The Evening Standard in 2012 that he had been smoking for ’30 years’, which he had originally started when he was only ‘9 years old’.

“Then I stopped about 15, 20 years ago,” he clarified at the time. “Then I was just starting out in Las Vegas and the band and I went to a little club and someone offered me a cigarette. And I was back. Within a week I was back. Not on a pack a day, because when I really smoked I used to use three packs a day – no filters. Oh yeah. I was a great smoker.”

More recently, Manilow turned to vaping. Prior to his recent lung cancer diagnosis, Manilow battled bronchial pneumonia, an oral tumor and was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma – a form of throat cancer – in 2020. (Manilow underwent surgery and voice therapy after his throat cancer diagnosis in 2020 and eventually made a full recovery.)

In 2019, Manilow admitted to the Daily mirror that he was willing to accept the consequences of a lifetime of smoking.

“I’m fine, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m very old, I shouldn’t be able to do this,” he said. “You saw me go up those stairs on stage – there’s fourteen steps up and fourteen steps down, you’d think I’d have to be in a wheelchair or something.”

Manilow is supported during his recovery from lung cancer by his husband, Gary Kiefwhom he married in 2014 after more than 35 years together.