Sad update on John Farnham after marathon surgery

Australian music legend John Farnham faces weeks of recovery after his drastic cancer surgery – amid doubts he will ever sing again.

Farnham, 73, had part of his jaw removed during the almost 12-hour operation on Tuesday.

He is likely to need to have a tube inserted 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,” Sydney radio host Ben Fordham revealed on Thursday.

On Wednesday, entertainment reporter Peter Ford said it was unlikely Farnham, the singer of You’re The Voice, would ever perform again.

“Certainly now you have to say there’s even a lesser chance,” Ford said.

“The first [stage of the operation] was the removal of the tumour, the second was a reconstructive surgery because John has had part of his jaw removed.

“But as we’ve heard all along [from the family], they have twice used the word ‘successful’, so that gives reason for optimism and hope.”

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Ford said Farnham was focused more on his recovery and general health than worrying about singing in the future.

“I don’t think singing or not singing is even part of the equation at the moment for John,” Ford said.

“[Not singing is] disappointing for us fans, but obviously his first and only priority right now is his health.”

Farnham’s wife Jill and sons Rob and James said on Wednesday the singer was in a stable condition after his marathon operation.

“John has been through an 11-and-a-half-hour surgery in Melbourne yesterday and is now in a stable condition in ICU,” Ms Farnham said.

“The cancer tumour was located in his mouth and it has been successfully removed.

“There is still a long road of recovery and healing ahead of us, but we know John is up for that task.”

Since then, Rob Farnham has reportedly posted some details on social media.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks,” he said in a Facebook post on Thursday, according to news.com.au

“We are very proud of Dad, he is strong and will smash this. Dad and the family are feeling the love from everyone. The support from friends, family, Australia and OS [overseas] has been massive.

“Huge shout out to the hospital staff for being so amazing, we couldn’t do this without your honesty and support.”

• John Farnham’s surgery reveals complexity of mouth cancers

TV legend John Blackman has also shared insight into Farnham’s recovery, which he said would not be easy. Blackman, whose own jaw was removed in the same procedure four years ago, said he cried after learning about his old friend’s diagnosis.

‘Hopefully John will get through this with as little angst as possible, and he’s going to need all the support he can get,’ the Hey Hey It’s Saturday star told the Seven Network.

‘I know his family is very loving and they’re all going to gather around him.”

Before his surgery, Farnham said a cancer diagnosis was something many people faced each day “and countless others have walked this path before me”.

“The one thing I know for sure is that we have the very best specialist health care professionals in Victoria and we can all be grateful for that. I know I am,” he said.

Mouth cancer is a type of head and neck cancer – with more than 5100 people diagnosed with head and neck cancer in Australia each year, experts said.

That included three people diagnosed with mouth cancer every day, Head and Neck Cancer Australia said.

Men make up about 70 per cent of the people diagnosed with head and neck cancers each year, with tobacco and alcohol use responsible for more than three-quarters of cases.

Treatment could take away patients’ basic abilities such as eating, breathing, speaking, drinking, and swallowing, the organisation said, and recovery could be long.

Farnham’s diagnosis comes three years after he suffered a health scare and was hospitalised with a severe kidney infection. He was also a long-time smoker, before giving up some years ago.

Farnham sang his way into Australian hearts as a fresh-faced teenager in the 1960s, but faded into near-obscurity before his 1986 album Whispering Jack shot him back to the top some 20 years later.

The album produced You’re the Voice, one of Australia’s best-known anthems, and propelled Farnham to hero status.

He followed up Whispering Jack with his chart-topping albums Age of Reason (1988) and Chain Reaction (1990).

-with AAP

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