Barry Manilow is feeling healthy, happy and cancer free!
The crooner, 82, revealed back in December that he had been diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer the month prior after battling six weeks of bronchitis.
© Getty ImagesWhile getting a regular MRI to ascertain his performance abilities before returning to the Las Vegas stage, a "dot" was detected on his lung, which was later confirmed to be stage 1 cancer. He soon had a surgery to remove the abnormality, and has shared updates on his recovery process while preparing for shows (and unfortunately postponing some).
Now, the "Once Before I Go" singer is extensively opening up for the first time about his cancer diagnosis, especially given that he's cancer free after a successful lobectomy, without needing radiation or chemotherapy.
Finding the cancer
He explained to People that he'd gone to see the doctor when his hips and pelvis were bothering him after his bronchitis bouts. His doctor then ordered an MRI. ?If he hadn't done that, man…," Barry mused.
"He saved my life, because there's no symptoms for what I had. I could go on, nothing hurt — but they found the dot in my lung. They called me and said, 'Could be cancer.' That's a bad word. 'Not me. [expletive] you. I can't have cancer.'" Sure enough, it was then confirmed to be stage 1 lung cancer.
© InstagramThe performer explained that neither he nor the doctors had any idea as to how long he'd actually had the abnormality for, which "could have been years," although they'd caught it at the right time. "It just so happened that it hadn't spread, and boy oh boy, I thought I might be dying."
Treatment and recovery
He underwent a lobectomy four weeks later, and spent seven days in the ICU. "I don't remember it, thank goodness, because it was a nightmare. I'm one of the lucky ones; I don't have to have chemo, radiation and all that stuff."
© Getty ImagesNow, Barry's back in business, scheduled to resume his farewell arena tour later this year and release his first album of all original material in 15 years, What A Time, on June 5. "It has really, really made me take stock of my life," he shared of his cancer battle.
Back in business
"This made me stop and think about: Have I done what I wanted to do, and have I made people happy? Have I been a good friend? All of those cornball things that I've read for all of my life, I started to think about that, too. It really did stop me in my tracks. And the answers are yes. And as a matter of fact, there are more yeses than I ever thought."
© Getty ImagesHe added: "You just don't even think about [how fragile life is]. And suddenly, you have lung cancer. But I'm still here. I'm not all here; there's part of me that isn't here — they took out a part of me, and now I've got to figure out, 'What do I do?'"
