Barry Manilow Makes Shocking Death Confession as Lung Cancer Recovery Taking 'Longer' Than Expected: 'This Might Be Goodbye'

Barry Manilow is preparing to part with his fans for good.

During the Monday, June 1, episode of Good Morning America, the 82-year-old singer reflected on how his lung cancer diagnosis has permanently hindered his life and career.

Doctors initially removed a stage 1 cancerous tumor in his left lung, and despite the surgery, Manilow wound up back in the emergency room with pneumonia.

"There were a couple of moments there that I thought this may be goodbye," he said. "But these people at this hospital, they were just angels, saints. I could cry so hard every time I think about these nurses and doctors."

The musician — who canceled a slew of performances in the wake of his illness — was upset by how the left lung lobectomy affected his voice.

"My voice — I don't know whether it's coming back," he admitted. "I did my first sound check about a month ago and I didn't sound like me at all. I just couldn't believe that it's over. That is really upsetting. Because I don't want it to stop."

Manilow has spent over 50 years in the music industry, yet feels like he’s “taken [his] voice for granted.”

"I don't take it seriously," he said. "Now I do, because it doesn't seem to be there the way it always was."

The “Copacabana” singer’s cancer diagnosis was initially announced on December 22, 2025, after he visited doctors for an MRI following a nasty case of bronchitis.

"They checked my lungs, and they found the dot, the spot, that thing that you don't want to, you don't want to ever have," Manilow said. "They said I had lung cancer and we have to get it out. It was just too heavy for me.”

Post-surgery, Manilow is “doing good,” but he disclosed “it took longer than [he] thought it was going to take to get past this lung cancer."

Now that he feels that death may be looming, he’s considering whether he has fulfilled all his dreams.

"Have I done everything I wanted to do? Have I been good to people? Have I made people feel good?" he considered. "That's all I ever wanted to do with my music. The thing that shocked me was all the people around the world being concerned about me. It was note after note after note about 'we're praying for you.'"

Illness aside, Manilow — whose album What a Time will be released on Friday, June 5 — is far from finished with music.

"I can't wait to get back. I'm in great shape, I'm ready to go. I just hope my voice is there. If I sound good, that would be just great," he gushed. "I really don't want to cry on stage, but I don't know whether I'll be able to hold that back this time."