The legendary singer underwent a lobectomy in December 2025 to treat stage 1 lung cancer
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In the latest issue of PEOPLE, Barry Manilow opens up about his recent lung cancer diagnosis and undergoing a lobectomy in December 2025.
The 82-year-old legendary singer recalls spending seven days in the ICU before being discharged, calling the experience a “nightmare” despite it leaving him cancer-free.
“You just don’t even think about [how fragile life is]. And suddenly, you have lung cancer,” he tells PEOPLE. “But I’m still here. I’m not all here; there’s part of me that isn’t here — they took out a part of me, and now I’ve got to figure out, ‘What do I do?’ ”
Manilow adds, “This really rocked me, but I’m getting stronger, and we’ll see if I can make it back.”
As the Grammy winner continues to recover from treatment, here’s what to know about his intense procedure.
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A lobectomy is a surgery to remove a section, or lobe, of the lung — a common treatment for lung cancer. There are five lobes in the lungs: three in the right lung and two in the left. During the procedure, the surgeon removes the affected lobe of the lung and any nearby lymph nodes to prevent the spread of cancer.
The surgery can be performed two ways, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. In most cases, one large incision is made on the front of the chest wrapping around the back under the shoulder blade. The surgeon accesses the chest cavity through the exposed ribs to remove the affected lobe.
In other cases, a less invasive procedure is performed using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Three or four small incisions are made and the surgeon accesses the chest cavity using small tools to remove the affected lobe. One of those tools is a thoracoscope, a tube with a light and a tiny camera that sends images to a computer screen.
A lobectomy offers the best chance of a cure for those with early-stage lung cancer. Recovery time can vary from several weeks to months
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