Singer Barry Manilow announces he has lung cancer and postpones US concerts.

New York.- New Yorker singer Barry Manilow, 82, announced this Monday that he was diagnosed with lung cancer and will have to undergo surgery, which has led him to reschedule several concerts scheduled for January.

In a statement released on his social media, the performer of hits like 'Copacabana' and 'Mandy' explained that he received the diagnosis by chance after spending several weeks with respiratory problems. «As many know, I recently spent six weeks with bronchitis, followed by a relapse of another five weeks,» said Manilow, and added that despite having recovered and returned to the stage, his doctor ordered an MRI to make sure everything was okay. The test detected "a cancerous spot" in his left lung that, according to the doctors, they must remove. «It's pure luck -and a great doctor- that it was found so soon», said the artist, who emphasized that specialists do not believe the cancer has spread. "There will be no chemotherapy or radiation. Just chicken soup and reruns of 'I Love Lucy,'" he joked on Instagram.

Barry Manilow hopes to return for Valentine's Day

Manilow is scheduled for surgery at the end of December and will need approximately one month of recovery after the surgery, so the concerts he had scheduled in the United States for January will be postponed to between February and April. The singer apologized to his fans for the change of dates: "I am very sorry that you have to modify your plans," he wrote, while assuring that he hopes to return to the stage in February, coinciding with his traditional Valentine's Day weekend in Las Vegas, where he maintains a permanent residency. Likewise, the artist also took the opportunity to wish his followers happy holidays and encouraged everyone to undergo medical check-ups "at the slightest symptom". Manilow achieved international fame in the 1970s thanks to a series of hits that made him one of the most popular figures in American pop, including 'Mandy', 'Copacabana' and 'Can't Smile Without you', with a melodic style that sold tens of millions of records and consolidated a career of more than five decades.