Barry Manilow Recaps ‘Depressing Visit’ to the Doctor, Reschedules Tour

Barry Manilow is undergoing some health challenges. As a result, the music icon has had to cancel his tour.

The “Copacabana” singer is battling lung cancer, which he announced in December 2025. He took to Instagram to reveal that his recovery is taking longer than he’d like and must focus on his health in the interim.

“Just got home from visiting the surgeon. Very depressing visit,” Manilow, 82, wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “I told him that I have been using the treadmill three times a day (I have) but that I still couldn’t sing more than three songs in a row before I had to stop. But I was sure that I would be able to do the Arena shows in a few weeks.”

Initially, Manilow said that the surgeon rejected his timeline. “He said, ‘Barry, you won’t be ready to do a 90 minute show,’” he revealed. “‘Your lungs aren’t ready yet. You’re in great shape considering what you’ve been through, but your body isn’t ready. You shouldn’t do the first Arena shows. You won’t make it through.’”

Manilow said he wasn’t actually surprised by the doctor’s news. “I had a feeling he’d say that,” he wrote. “Deep down, I wanted to go back — but my body knew what my heart didn’t want to admit: I wasn’t ready.”

The finger was slated to hit the stage in a series of performances between Feb. 27 and March 17. Those shows have been delayed as doctors found new spots. Now, he intends to make dates up with a second leg of the initial tour.

“I’m SO, SO sorry I have to reschedule some of these first Arena shows. Again!” he wrote. “But when I do come back, I will COME BACK!!! In the meantime, and once again, thank you all for your wonderful notes and phone calls of support. The doctor said that my body had been through hell and that it needed time to heal. So, I’m going back to healing.”