Key Points
- Australian singer John Veteran Australian singer John Farnham is recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous growth.has been admitted to hospital.
- Farnham's family have not said what type of cancer it is.
Veteran Australian singer John Farnham is recovering in hospital after undergoing almost 12 hours of surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his mouth.
In a statement on Wednesday, Farham's wife Jill and sons Rob and James said the singer was in a stable condition.
"John has been through an eleven and a half hour surgery in Melbourne yesterday and is now in a stable condition in ICU," Jill wrote.
"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."
The family paid tribute to hospital staff and thanked the public for their well wishes.
John Farnham, his wife Jill, and their sons Rob and James released a statement on Tuesday sharing the news of the singer's diagnosis.
"To all the surgeons, doctors, nurses and consultants - thank you one and all so very much."
The singer's operation began at 8am on Tuesday in a Melbourne hospital and was successfully completed at 7.30pm that night.
Before his surgery, Farnham, 73, 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.
John Farnham has been admitted to hospital for treatment on a cancerous growth, his family said in a statement. Source: Getty / Cole Bennetts
He later revealed he had quit smoking following the health scare.
“It gave me a wake up call to look after myself a bit more," Farnham told the Herald Sun in 2019.
"I gave up smoking just before my birthday. I haven’t had a smoke for a few months which I’m happy about and that’s made me feel better. I’m still having a love affair with the occasional glass of red wine.”
Who is John Farnham?
Farnham sang his way into Australian hearts as a fresh-faced teenager in the 1960s, but had faded into near-obscurity before his 1986 album Whispering Jack shot him back to the top some 20 years later.
The album produced one of the nation's best-known anthems, You're the Voice, and propelled Farnham to hero status.
He followed up Whispering Jack with his chart-topping albums Age of Reason (1988) and Chain Reaction (1990).
John Farnham is one of Australia's most celebrated entertainers. Source: Getty / Impressions
Farnham has won 19 ARIA Awards and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.
In 1987 he was named Australian of the Year, and in 1996 he was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Farnham was born in 1949 in Dagenham, England. He emigrated to Australia aged 10 with his family, who settled in Melbourne.
He married dancer Jillian Billman in 1973. They have two sons, Rob and James.
Diagnosis sparks outpouring of support
News of Farnham's cancer diagnosis has prompted an outpouring of well wishes across the country.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said all Australians loved him.
John Farnham is one of Australia's most celebrated entertainers, and has won 19 ARIA Awards and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Source: Getty / Hanna Lassen
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he was a wonderful person.
"I wish him and his family well in what is surely a very difficult time," Mr Andrews said.
Farnham's family have requested privacy at this time.
