At the heaviest point in his career, Barry Manilow weighed 128 pounds.
«"I looked in the mirror and saw that I looked like I did in those Auschwitz prisoner photos," Manilow told USA TODAY.
The iconic singer, sometimes derided for the very music that landed him in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and earned him more than 85 million records sold worldwide, shocked his devoted fans when he announced in December that he was postponing his long-running Las Vegas show and other tour dates.
Doctors discovered that he had a stage one cancerous growth in his left lung.
The surgery was successful, but afterward Manilow, who turns 83 on June 17, developed pneumonia and spent seven days in intensive care and nearly a month in the hospital.
«"I had a collapsed lung in mid-January, so I had to go back to the hospital," he says. "So the healing actually started in February, and they say it takes about a year to fully recover, but I'm going on tour soon.".
Barry Manilow has been battling lung cancer since late 2025 and says he is now "in great shape.".
Manilow is determined to return to the stage. His postponed concerts are scheduled to resume in early June in the UK, after which he will return to The Last Concerts arena series in the US and continue his performances at the Westgate in Las Vegas.
«"I'm practicing singing in my studio, and I'm pretty close," he says, his voice noticeably deeper and raspier than it has been in years. "I'm not sure I can handle 90 minutes [on stage]... I give it my all every day. And every now and then, I think I'm doing well. And then the next day, I can't even talk, let alone sing.".
On June 5, Manilow released "What a Time," his first album of original material in nearly 14 years. It follows another Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, the melancholy "Once Before I Go," written in the 1980s by renowned songwriter Peter Allen. The song, contrary to popular belief, isn't about a death omen, but about the dissolution of a romantic relationship.
However, Manilow reflects on life and says he had several scary nights lying awake in his hospital bed.
«"Nobody thinks about dying. But a couple of nights I thought to myself, 'Wow, did I do everything I wanted to? Was I kind to people?' It's the same thought that comes to mind when you're that close to death. And I was right there, I was in it," he says. "I hope we all think that way if we find ourselves at death's door.".
Did he feel that he had succeeded in fulfilling all these life tasks?
«I really wondered, «What’s my epitaph?» And it would be, «I hope I made people feel good.» That’s always been my goal. I want people to feel better when they leave my concerts than when they came,» he says. «That’s my goal. It always has been.».
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barry Manilow says a collapsed lung nearly cost him his life.