Australian music great John Farnham is out of hospital and planning to celebrate with a pizza after being declared free of cancer.
The legendary singer issued a statement on Tuesday to mark 12 months since undergoing a 12-hour operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his mouth.
Farnham last month received formal confirmation from his medical team that he was all clear of cancer.
Despite being in and out of care for eight weeks of radiation treatment and further surgeries stemming from complications and infections, Farnham dubbed himself the luckiest man he knew.
“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,” he said in the statement, released by his talent agency.
“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.”
Farnham said he was only now beginning to appreciate and comprehend the many messages of love and support he’d received over the past year.
“I don’t know what to say, other than thank you so very much,” he added.
“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 sang his way into Australian hearts as a fresh-faced teenager in the 1960s, but had faded into near-obscurity before Whispering Jack shot him back to the top some 20 years later.
The 1986 album produced one of the nation’s most well-known anthems, You’re the Voice, and propelled Farnham to hero status.
Farnham followed up Whispering Jack with his chart-topping albums Age of Reason (1988) and Chain Reaction (1990).
