Michael Bublé Makes First Public Appearance Since Son’s Cancer Diagnosis

After spending months out of the public eye to focus on his son’s battle with cancer, Michael Bublé has returned.

The Canadian singer accepted the National Arts Centre Award in Ottawa from the Governor General of Canada on Wednesday. Bublé was originally supposed to receive the award last year, but missed the event due to family commitments.

“I stand here truly humbled that I have been allowed to be one of your musical representatives and that you would choose to bestow this honor upon me during what has been an emotionally difficult time for my family,” Bublé said during his speech, according to The Canadian Press. “I thank you for the love and support that you’ve given me and for the pride I’m filled with every single time I’m able to stand on a stage and say, ‘My name is Michael Steven Bublé and I am Canadian.'”

To his wife Luisana Lopilato, sons Noah, 3½, and Elias, 17 months, parents and sisters, he added, “There are no words to describe how I feel about you. Sometimes, ‘I love you’ just isn’t enough because what I feel is just so much more.”

Days after disclosing his elder son’s diagnosis in a November Facebook post, the father of two canceled his December BBC Music Awards Performance, with BBC Music director Bob Shennan stating, “We send Michael and his family our very best wishes.”

Over the next few months, Bublé pulled out of hosting February’s Brit awards as well as April’s Juno Awards based in his native country.

“Our thoughts continue to be with Michael — we respect his ongoing commitment to his family and look forward to working with him again in the future,” Mike Consentino of Bell Media, the company broadcasting the Juno Awards, said in a March statement.

Since then, the singer has made only one other social media post regarding his son: in February, sharing that Noah’s treatment is progressing positively.

“We are so grateful to report that our son Noah has been progressing well during his treatment and the doctors are very optimistic about the future for our little boy,” the statement said. “He has been brave throughout and we continue to be inspired by his courage. We thank God for the strength he has given all of us.”

In a press conference in Buenos Aires in April for her film — Those Who Love, Hate — Bublé‘s wife gave an update on Noah’s health while revealing how cancer has helped her appreciate each day.

“It’s difficult for me to speak about this, it’s very recent and I’m still a bit sensitive about the subject,” Lopilato, 30, said in Spanish.

“My son’s recovery is a long process as you all know and he has to continue with check-ups,” she added. “But we are very happy. We are looking forward to thinking about the future, to seeing our children grow.”

“Thank God my son is well,” Lopilato said. “When things like those that happened to us occur, your take on life changes. Now I value life much more, the now and the today.”

“Out of respect I would like to thank people for their support, for the many prayers they said — for their love,” she continued. “I would like them to know and tell them that everything reached me and that it helped us a lot to get through this.”

“The love is daily, when people stop me in the street. It’s wonderful to know that you’re accompanied in life and that people love you.”