Barry Manilow has broken his silence about his health problems.
As fans will know, the musician was diagnosed with lung cancer in November.
Now, in a new conversation with PEOPLE magazine, Manilow spoke candidly about his illness and recovery.
“You just don’t even think about it [how fragile life is]. And suddenly you have lung cancer. But I’m still here. I’m not all here; There’s a part of me that’s not there. They took a part of me out and now I have to think, ‘What do I do?'” Manilow began.
He reportedly dealt with a hip problem in November that led to a lung MRI and ultimately a cancer diagnosis. It is noteworthy that the doctor recommended a lung MRI when he learned that the singer had recently suffered two attacks of bronchitis.
“If he hadn’t done that, man… He saved my life because there were no symptoms for what I had. I could go on, nothing hurt, but they found the dot in my lung,” he recalled.
“They called me and said, ‘It could be cancer.’ That’s a bad word. ‘I don’t. F*** you. I can’t get cancer. ”
Four weeks after the initial discovery, Manilow underwent a lobectomy to remove the diseased part of his lung.
The surgery was followed by a grueling seven-day stay in intensive care, an experience he describes as a “nightmare” that he is grateful he was able to largely block out.
“I can’t remember, thank God, because it was a nightmare,” Manilow reflected on his hospital stay.
“I’m one of the lucky ones; I don’t have to go through chemo, radiation and all that stuff,” he concluded.
