John Farnham’s family say the legendary musician has a “long road ahead” in his recovery from surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his mouth this week.
The beloved singer, 73, had part of his jaw removed during a marathon 12-hour operation on Tuesday, with reports he’s unlikely to ever sing again.
It’s not the first time the singer’s health has threatened his career, with fears emerging back in 2019 for the future of Farnham’s performing days.
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Entertainment reporter Peter Ford told radio station 6PR on Wednesday that Farnham’s chances of singing publicly again dimmed back in February when his close friend and manager Glenn Wheatley died. Now, Ford says “there’s even a lesser chance” of the You’re The Voice singer gracing the stage.
On Thursday, Sydney 2GB host Ben Fordham further revealed Farnham may have to face surgery again, casting even more doubt over the future of his singing career.
“Doctors may have to insert a tube into his windpipe as part of his recovery, he’ll need a feeding tube and he’ll need rehab to help him chew and swallow again, he’ll spend weeks in hospital recovering,” Fordham said on-air.
Farnham’s cancer diagnosis came about after his wife of nearly 44 years, Jill Farnham, insisted he have a lesion in his mouth checked out, a situation which echoed that of the singer’s health woes back in 2019.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in 2019, the then-70-year-old discussed a “severe” kidney infection that forced him to cancel an Australian tour set to take place in April that year.
He revealed back then that it was wife Jill who pushed him to put his health first after he’d been feeling “very dehydrated”.
“I didn’t realise until too late. I’d been feeling uncomfortable. My wife Jill had been telling me to go to the doctor,” explained the singer at the time.
Farnham explained that he had pushed through despite the pain, thinking, “It’ll be fine” – an attitude of his close friend of the family Gaynor Wheatley repeated this week – until he was later rushed to hospital.
“I was very unwell there for a while,” he said, adding that “it gave me a wake-up call to look after myself a bit more.”
The kidney infection developed after undergoing an unknown surgical procedure three months prior.
Farnham managed to bounce back, performing again in August that same year, and again in front of thousands in 2020 at the Fire Fight For Australia charity gig.
Bouncing back, after all, is part of the artist’s brand.
In 2002, Farnham memorably announced his decision to retire from full-scale national tours after his The Last Time Tour. Six years later in 2008, Farnham, by then aged 60, came out of retirement with a tour across Australia that saw him play 37 concerts.
At the time, Farnham claimed he never really retired from touring, only from playing large arenas, adding: “Pink’s done them all now anyway.”
As fans rally around the singer this week, his longtime friend Derryn Hinch has given some insight into the Aussie music legend’s life.
Hinch shared that his friend had “smoked too much” for years, also revealing the simple plea from Farnham’s son that made him give up cigarettes.
In an article published on The Big Smoke this week, Hinch opened up about Farnham’s past as a smoker, which can lead to a 10-fold risk for oral cancer compared to nonsmokers.
“For years, John smoked too much. He only stopped when a precious son said, ‘Daddy, I don’t want you to die.’ So, he switched to cigars,” Hinch wrote.
Entertainment reporter Peter Ford, who has been in contact with Farnham’s family since his admission to hospital, spoke more about the singer’s history as a smoker during an appearance on Sunrise this week.
“This may not be related, but it is part of the backstory: Through the years, John has been a major smoker. He’s not proud of it, but he’s made no secret of it either,” he said.
Ford explained that after switching from cigarettes to cigars, Farnham gave up smoking altogether “some years ago”.
“When he had his last health scare about three-and-a-half years ago, that was a major turning point where he thought, ‘I’ve got to start looking after myself – stop smoking, less booze, eating better,’” he said.
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In a statement before his surgery on Tuesday, Farnham said that he was “grateful” to be cared for by Victoria’s healthcare system.
“Cancer diagnosis is something that so many people face every single day, and countless others have walked this path before me,” he said in the statement.
“The one thing I know for sure is that we have the very best specialist healthcare professionals in Victoria, and we can all be grateful for that. I know I am.”
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