“Today is a special day”: John Farnham cancer-free

Legendary performer John Farnham is cancer-free, he has announced.

On this date 12 months ago, Farnham underwent a 12 hour surgery in Melbourne to remove a cancerous tumour from his mouth along with the re-constructive plastic surgery that followed.

Since then he has been in and out of rehabilitation care that included 8 weeks of radiation treatment and supplementary surgical procedures as a result of various complications and issues including infections that presented over the past year.

In July John was formally given confirmation by his medical team that he is “all clear” of cancer.

“I am the luckiest man I know right now,” he said. “It’s been a year since my first surgery and to be honest I’ve lost count as to how many other procedures there’s been since then. I’m sure someone’s kept track of them all – let’s just say, there’s been a few. But, I’m home now and I’m a very grateful and happy man. I’m sitting here in my living room lapping up the attention from my beautiful wife, Jill, my boys Rob and James and my mini Schnauzer, Edmund.

“It’s only now that I can start to appreciate and comprehend, for myself, how many messages of love and support have been sent to me over the past year. I don’t know what to say, other than thank you so very much. It honestly means the world to me. Thank you to everyone who took the time to write and send a message.

“Today is a special day. And I’m going to mark it by having a pizza – because I can! I can’t wait to see what might be next on the menu. Bring on 2024.”

Farnham’s story has recently featured in a documentary Finding the Voice, which has drawn big cinema and television audiences.

The Farnham family also asked to thank everyone across Australia and the world for the extraordinary amount of generous messages and well wishes that have been received over the past five months and say thank you, again to the remarkable Melbourne medical professionals who have taken such care such good of him.

Brilliant.