While fans and loved ones were no doubt overjoyed when Aussie singing sensation John Farnham overcame his battle with cancer, the You’re the Voice hitmaker has revealed the road to recovery has not been an easy one.
In August 2022, Farnham underwent surgery and treatment for mouth cancer. After enduring multiple surgeries, eight weeks of radiation therapy, and overcoming several challenges, Farnham received the “all-clear” from doctors in July 2023 and was declared cancer-free.
Although Farnham admits he was “lucky” to have received life-saving treatment, he recently opened up about the “dark thoughts” he had following surgery and as he navigated treatment.
“I’ve never felt so low in all my life. The thoughts were so dark, I don’t want to share them on this page. But they were very bleak and I wasn’t sure how to get beyond them,” Farnham revealed in an excerpt from his memoir published by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The cancer diagnosis had gutted me. I was lucky, I had the best possible doctors, they were amazing, but the surgery left me with a fair amount of facial disfigurement and pain. All that had built up to a point where the thoughts nearly got the better of me.”
A pivotal moment came in his recovery when he saw a young girl facing her own health battle in hospital.
“I watched this young girl, who had her whole life in front of her, yet she looked so sick and frail. She had a whole life to live and there I was, a man who had lived a good life, feeling sorry for myself,” he reflected.
“Seeing that girl also made me realise that I’d frightened myself with those dark thoughts. I had to do something about them. It was up to me to pull my socks up a little bit. I said to myself, ‘Cancer got me but it hasn’t killed me.'”
After reaching out to friends, family and professionals, Farnham shared that “it only took about a week for me to overcome those thoughts”.
“I’d never had those thoughts, and talking about them was the only thing that made me feel better,” he added.
He also encouraged those who are struggling or experiencing similar thoughts to seek out help.
“Get it out, confront it, get help to deal with them,” he said.
“I was down, very down, but now, most times, I’m fine and I feel a lot of gratitude.”
Elsewhere in his memoir, Farnham also shared that the surgery that saved his life has unfortunately left him unable to sing.
“My facial disfigurement from the surgery means I can’t open my mouth wide enough for a strip of spaghetti, let alone to sing,” Farnham revealed.
“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’s a very disconcerting thing. And trying hurts.”
Despite the challenges, Farnham is holding on to hope that he will be able to perform again one day.
“I was given a gift and to be able to get out there and affect people in some way was special, I would like to continue doing that,” he said.
“Though I am not putting all my hopes into it, we’ll see.”
If you or anyone you know needs help: Lifeline — 13 11 14; MensLine Australia — 1300 789 978; BeyondBlue — 1300 224 636; Suicide Call Back Service — 1300 659 467; Headspace — 1800 650 890; Kids Helpline — 1800 551 800.