John Farnham has opened up about his terrifying battle with cancer, which has left him unable to fully open his mouth.
The Australian singer, 75, was declared cancer-free a year ago and has shared details about the ordeal in his upcoming memoir, The Voice Inside.
He revealed he was left unable to sing or fully open his mouth after undergoing a grueling 12-hour surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his mouth.
“My facial disfigurement due to surgery means I can’t open my mouth wide enough to eat a strip of spaghetti, let alone sing,” John detailed in an excerpt published in the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘I can’t get the movement to make the sounds I want to make, that’s where the vibrations and my voice come from. It is something very disconcerting. And trying hurts.
He said that while he still can’t sing his signature voice, he still has high hopes of being able to sing again one day.
‘They gave me a gift and being able to go out and affect people in some way was special, I would like to continue doing it. Although I’m not putting all my hopes in it, we’ll see,” he shared.
John also said that he believes the tumor arose as a result of his long-time smoking habit, which he eventually managed to kick.
“Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but as soon as they told me the results, I couldn’t help but think it was my fault, I smoked a lot my whole life,” he said.
John Farnham (pictured in 2015) has opened up about his terrifying battle with cancer, which left him unable to fully open his mouth.
He said he started smoking at the age of 14 and would do so secretly after his disapproving parents found out.
Her memoir has been co-written with Poppy Stockwell and Farnham will tell her story in her own words and with her trademark humour.
The book, due for release on October 30, documents Farnham’s early life and stardom while growing up in Melbourne in the 1960s, through to his 1986 comeback album, Whispering Jack.
In August 2022, the hitmaker was surprisingly diagnosed with oral cancer and then underwent a 12-hour surgery to remove the cancerous tumor.
During the operation, part of his jaw was also removed and reconstructive surgery was also performed.
The 75-year-old singer details his battle with cancer in an excerpt from his memoirs in which he graphically describes his recovery process after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his mouth.
In a statement after his latest surgery for oral cancer, the music superstar said he was finally in the comfort of his home surrounded by his loving family and felt like “the luckiest man I know.”
“It’s been a year since my first surgery and I’ve lost count of how many other procedures have been done since then,” he said.
In August 2023, Farnham confirmed that he was cancer-free and his son said that he was “very, very well” at the time.