John Farnham tells all about gruelling surgery and recovery
John Farnham has candidly shared the details of his mammoth surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his jaw, and the subsequent recovery process.
Revealing all in his new memoir The Voice Inside, the Aussie music legend spoke about his recent health challenges after he was diagnosed with oral cancer in August 2022 which saw him undergo a marathon 12-hour surgery to the tumour.
The procedure involved the reconstruction of part of his jaw and required intensive care and an extended recovery period, as surgeons removed all his bottom teeth and scraped his jaw bone.
Farnham’s recounting of the experience in his memoir, marking the first time the music legend has talked publicly about the surgery and his recovery.
“I was told later that someone from the medical team called Jillian [Billman, Farnham’s wife] a couple of times while I was in theatre – apparently I was very close to dying,” he said.
He went on to write about the lengthy journey of finding his voice again, writing, “My facial disfigurement from the surgery means I can’t open my mouth wide enough for a strip of spaghetti, let alone to sing a top C."
"At this stage I can’t get the movement to make the sounds I want to make, and that’s where the vibrations and my voice come from,” he wrote.
“It’s still a very disconcerting thing. And trying hurts [...] I can barely open my mouth but I still wail in the shower.”
Farnham's memoir comes after his long-time friend Gaynor Wheatley told Today that he has not ruled out the possibility of ever performing again.
"As soon as I saw him in the studio doing the audiobook and as soon as he got behind the microphone, the twinkle was in the eye," she told the show on Wednesday.
"That's when I thought, you know, we're still in with a shot and he can still sing, his voice box is still great, there's just a few more things to do with the mouth recovery, but we all know he's as strong as a boxer so if he wants to do something, he'll do it.
"If I say to him, 'You won't sing, you can't sing, what a shame', then he'll go, 'Yes I can, I'll prove you wrong'."
Image credits: Getty Images / Facebook