Veteran entertainer Barry Manilow is to have surgery after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Manilow, 82, has revealed he recently battled bronchitis and a scan of his lungs picked up a “cancerous spot”.

He’s now preparing to undergo an operation to remove part of his lung and has been forced to cancel his upcoming concerts.

“As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks,” Manilow wrote in a post on Instagram.

“Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK.

“The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that [it] was found so early. That’s the good news.

“The bad news is that now that the Christmas Gift Of Love concerts are over I’m going into surgery to have the spit (sic) removed.”

Manilow said doctors did not think the cancer had spread so he was unlikely to require chemotherapy or radiation treatment following the operation.

“The doctors do not believe it has spread and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis. So that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns,” he said.

Manilow will need a month to recover from the operation so he has cancelled shows planned for the US in January.

“The only follow-up is a month to recover and that means we will have to reschedule the January arena concerts … I’m very sorry that you have to change your plans,” he said.

The rescheduled gigs include stops in Orlando, Charleston, Greensboro and Columbus. All have been rescheduled and Manilow hopes to be back on stage in February to resume his Las Vegas residency over the Valentine’s Day weekend.

“Something tells me February is going to be one big party … I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and remember, if you even have the slightest symptom, get tested!” he finished his Instagram post.

Manilow previously battled throat cancer following a diagnosis in 2020 but had recovered.

He has been open about how he became hooked on cigarettes as a child and smoked for more than 30 years.

“Well, I smoked for 30 years. I started when I was nine years old. I grew up in Brooklyn. Then I stopped about 15, 20 years ago,” he told the London Evening Standard newspaper.

“Then I just started in Las Vegas and the band and I went down to a little club and somebody offered me a cigarette. And I was back.

“Within a week I was back. Not on a pack a day, ’cause when I was really smoking I was on three packs a day – non filters. Oh yeah. I was a great smoker.”