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Despite a slew of show cancellations and postponements, Barry Manilow has his heart set on a June stage return amid his ongoing cancer treatments.
On Friday, the 82-year-old singer-songwriter announced that while he has to cancel his “Hits Come Home” residency dates in May at Westgate Resort in Las Vegas, he’s “making great progress” with his lung cancer treatment and plans to return to the stage sooner rather than later.
“Good news! I went to the doctor yesterday and he said I’m making great progress and look great! Well of course I do! Thank you very much!” he wrote on X. “All the training and exercising I’ve put in is paying off.”
“He did say, however, that I’m not quite ready for Vegas. That means I won’t be able to return for our May shows at @WestgateVegas. But the good news is he said I will be ready for my June arena shows in the UK. It’s going to be great to see you all in the UK. Westgate Las Vegas is my home away from home…and I’ll see you all in July. In the meantime…come to the UK! We’ll be there in June and hope you will be too! See you then… Barry.”
In December, Manilow revealed he had been diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer after doctors discovered a cancerous spot on his left lung following a bout of bronchitis.
“As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks,” Manilow wrote on Instagram at the time. “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.”
“The bad news is that now that the Christmas A Gift of Love concerts are over I’m going into surgery to have the spot removed,” he continued. “The doctors do not believe it has spread and I’m taking tests to confirm the diagnosis. So, that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns.”
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In February, Manilow announced he was rescheduling additional February and March dates on the tour after a “very depressing visit” with his surgeon.
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That same month, the “Copacabana” detailed a tough conversation he had with his doctor.
“He said, ‘Barry, you won’t be ready to do a 90-minute show. Your lungs aren’t ready yet,’” Manilow continued.
“You’re in great shape considering what you’ve been through, but your body isn’t ready. You shouldn’t do the first arena shows. You won’t make it through.”
Manilow continued, “I had a feeling he’d say that. Deep down … my body knew what my heart didn’t want to admit: I wasn’t ready…When I do come back, I will COME BACK!!!”
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Hume contributed to this post.
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