John Farnham’s family say the legendary musician has “a long road ahead” in his recovery from surgery to remove a cancerous tumor 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 that he is unlikely to sing again.
It’s not the first time the singer’s health has threatened his career, with fears raised over the future of Farnham’s performing days in 2019.
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Entertainment journalist Peter Ford told radio station 6PR on Wednesday that Farnham’s chances of singing publicly were cut short again in February when her friend and manager Glenn Wheatley died. Now, Ford says “there’s even less of a chance.” You are The Voice singing thanking the stage.
On Thursday, Sydney 2GB host Ben Fordham further revealed that Farnham could face surgery again, casting further doubt over the future of her singing career.
“Doctors may have to insert a tube into his windpipe as part of his recovery, he will need a feeding tube and he will need rehabilitation to help him chew and swallow again, he will spend weeks in hospital recovering,” Fordham said. in the air
Farnham’s cancer diagnosis came after his wife of nearly 44 years, Jill Farnham, insisted he have a lesion in his mouth checked, a situation that echoed the singer’s health problems in 2019.
talking with The Daily Telegraph in 2019, the then 70-year-old spoke of a “severe” kidney infection that forced him to cancel a tour of Australia set to take place in April of that year.
He then revealed that it was his wife Jill who pushed him to put his health first after he had been feeling “very dehydrated”.
“I didn’t realize until it was too late. I had felt uncomfortable. My wife Jill had told me to go to the doctor,” explained the singer at the time.
Farnham said he had pushed on despite the pain, thinking, “It’s OK” – an attitude his close family friend Gaynor Wheatley echoed this week – until he was later taken to hospital.
“I was really bad there for a while,” she said, adding that “it gave me a wake-up call to take care of myself a little more.”
The kidney infection developed after undergoing an unknown surgical procedure three months earlier.
Farnham managed to bounce back, performing again in August of that year and again in front of thousands in 2020 at the Fire Fight For Australia benefit concert.
After all, recovering is part of the artist’s brand.
In 2002, Farnham memorably announced his decision to retire from large-scale national touring following his The Last Time tour. Six years later, in 2008, Farnham, 60, came out of retirement with a tour of Australia that saw him play 37 concerts.
Farnham then claimed that she never retired from touring, only from playing big arenas, adding: “Pink has done them all anyway.”
As fans rally around the singer this week, his longtime friend Derryn Hinch has given an insight into the life of the Aussie music legend.
Hinch shared that his friend had “smoked too much” for years, and also revealed the simple plea of Farnham’s son that made him give up cigarettes.
In an article published in The Big Smoke this week, Hinch discussed Farnham’s past as a smoker, which can carry a 10-fold risk of oral cancer compared to non-smokers.
“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 journalist 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’s part of the backstory: John has been a heavy smoker over the years. He’s not proud of it, but he hasn’t hidden it either,” he said.
Ford explained that after switching from cigarettes to cigars, Farnham quit smoking altogether “a few years ago”.
“When she had her last health scare about three and a half years ago, it was a major turning point where she thought, ‘I’ve got to start looking after myself: stop smoking, drink less alcohol, eat better.’ ” he said.
In a statement before his surgery on Tuesday, Farnham said he was “grateful” to be cared for by Victoria’s health system.
“A cancer diagnosis is something that so many people face every day, and many others have walked this path before me,” he said in the statement.
“The only thing I know for sure is that we have the best specialist health professionals in Victoria, and we can all be thankful for that. I know I am.”