Last month, we reported that Barry Manilow had to postpone several concerts while he recovered from a surgical procedure to remove a cancerous spot on one of his lungs.
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"I told [the surgeon] 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," he wrote on Instagram on Feb. 20.
"He shook his head," Manilow continued. "He looked at me and then he looked at the floor. 'What?' I said. He said, 'Barry, you won't be ready to do a 90 minute show. Your lungs aren't ready yet.'"
The 82-year-old singer-songwriter has since opened up about his experience and the frustration of recovery.
Barry Manilow Called the Experience a "Nightmare"
As reported by PEOPLE, Manilow underwent a lobectomy, a standard lung cancer treatment. The lung has five lobes: two on the left and three on the right. During this surgery, a lobe and nearby lymph nodes are removed to help prevent cancer from spreading.
While the procedure is the best cure for early-stage lung cancer, recovery can require weeks or months.
Manilow had one of the lobes in his left lung removed and spent seven days in the ICU before being discharged. While it left him cancer-free, he called the experience a "nightmare."
"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 Is Working to Get Back On the Road
Manilow said the lobectomy took a lot out of him. He lost strength, and his weight went down to 128 lbs.
"I'm still going through it, but I'm pulling myself back together," said Manilow. "I'm not even sure I can go to the next level yet. My body doesn't want to take me there. It's not even doctor's orders, it's my body's orders — it won't let me do it."
While he is scheduled to go back on tour on April 12, he still isn't sure if he'll have the strength to make that date.
He explained, "The shows that I do are full of energy, and unless you're in top-notch shape, you can't make it through 90 minutes."
