Barry Manilow appeared on Instagram on Friday to give his 118,000 followers a health update amid his lung cancer diagnosis.
The 82-year-old Copacabana singer — who revealed his prognosis in late December — let his concerned audience know he’s on the mend with a selfie.
Sharing a photo taken in his hospital bed, the hitmaker captioned, ‘Better Today!’
The top of Manilow’s green hospital gown was visible in the picture as he rested with a soft smile on his face.
Backup singer Melanie Taylor wrote a comment, ‘That’s my boss y’all! He’s making it through the rain! Love you B!’ and added prayer hand emojis.
And drummer Matt Sorum added, ‘Heal up Barry, much love.’
Barry Manilow appeared on Instagram on Friday to give his 118,000 followers a health update amid his lung cancer diagnosis
The 82-year-old Copacabana singer let his concerned audience know he’s on the mend; pictured in 2023
The longtime music artist initially shared with his fans that he had a cancerous spot on his left lung that would be surgically removed.
He noted at the time that he would not have to undergo chemo or radiation.
He explained that his doctor suggested an MRI after he suffered from two separate bouts of bronchitis that lasted for weeks.
‘Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI to make sure that everything was OK,’ he wrote on Instagram last month.
He added that it was ‘pure luck’ that the spot was discovered early.
A cancerous spot on the lung, called a lung nodule, is common and often benign, but needs evaluation due to its link with lung cancer, the leading cancer killer, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The star is a longtime smoker who has switched to vaping in recent years. Manilow told the London Evening Standard in 2012 that he’d been smoking since age nine.
He was spotted vaping in Palm Springs just weeks ago in photos obtained by Daily Mail.
Pictured performing at The Grammys on February 1 in Los Angeles
In his December 22 Instagram post, Manilow told fans he would be taking a break to focus on his recovery.
‘The bad news is that now that the Christmas Gift Of Love concerts are over I’m going into surgery to have the spot removed. The doctors do not believe it has spread and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis. So that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns,’ he detailed.
The entertainer was supposed to hit the stage for US tour dates in January 2026, visiting cities including Orlando, Tampa, Charleston, Greensboro and Columbus.Â
‘The only follow-up is a month to recover and that means we will have to reschedule the January arena concerts… I’m very sorry that you have to change your plans,’ he wrote.
Manilow said that he will be performing again in February. ‘Something tells me February is going to be one big party… I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and remember, if you even have the slightest symptom, get tested!’
He spoke about his smoking habit with the London Evening Standard over a decade ago, sharing, ‘Well, I smoked for 30 years. I started when I was nine-years-old.Â
‘I grew up in Brooklyn. Then I stopped about 15, 20 years ago. Then I just started in Las Vegas and the band and I went down to a little club and somebody offered me a cigarette. And I was back.’
