Photo Credit: Barry Manilow by Angela N. / CC by 2.0
Barry Manilow is making great progress with his cancer treatment, but postpones the start of his Vegas residency as a result. He’ll be back in July.
Over the weekend, legendary singer Barry Manilow announced that while he’s “making great progress” with his cancer treatment, he has to cancel his residency dates in May at the Westgate in Las Vegas. Instead, the residency kicks off in July, after Manilow returns from his arena shows in the UK in June.
“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!” Manilow wrote on the former Twitter on Friday. “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,” the artist continued. “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.”
In December, Manilow revealed that a “cancerous spot” was identified in his MRI, and he was diagnosed with Stage 1 lung cancer. He ended up pushing back his The Last Concerts tour to March and April, and was hoping to resume performing this month in Vegas.
Manilow was sick for several weeks last year before his cancer diagnosis. He told fans he “went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks,” at which point his doctor ordered an MRI “just to make sure that everything was OK.” It was then that the cancerous spot was discovered.
Manilow assured fans that it was “pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early.” He added that he wouldn’t need chemo or radiation treatments, but he would need time to recover after the spot was removed. “Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns.”
“I’m very sorry that you have to change your plans,” wrote the 82-year-old at the time, concluding, “If you even have the slightest symptom, get tested!”
Now, he’s set to return to the stage in the UK with dates starting on June 9 in Glasgow.
