The sons of John Farnham have opened up about their father’s road to recovery after his recent successful cancer surgery. 

It was revealed in August that the Australian music icon had been diagnosed with cancer, and was being sent to a Victorian hospital for treatment. The 73-year-old then underwent a gruelling 12-hour operation to remove a cancerous growth from his mouth.

Almost two months later, the singer’s sons, Robert and James, appeared on A Current Affair to reflect on their father’s recovery.

“It’s a long road to recovery still… there’s a long way to go,” James explained. As for whether Farnham is contemplating singing again, Robert said “it’s definitely not on his mind – he just wants to get better.”

Now recovering in rehab, Farnham’s sons happily revealed that their father had been in good spirits. “It’s new people, a new audience,” Robert said. “He’s a performer at heart and he’s always trying to make people laugh, make light of a bad situation, which is just who he is.”

The pair also thanks fans for their well wishes after Farnham’s diagnosis was made public. “We thank everyone who took the time to write a lot of these amazing messages to us,” Robert said.

“It was kind of comforting to know that Australia was behind him too and I know that he appreciated that,” James added. “I remember when we first told him, he got teary. He never expects everyone to still love him. It was nice for him to hear that, thanks, everyone.”

A website, www.weloveyoujohn.com.au, was recently been established for fans to send their well-wishes to Farnham and his family. This is due to the singer not having any dedicated social media presence.

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“We have received many thousands of beautiful messages via the weloveyoujohn.com.au website since it was launched. Being surrounded by this much love and support has meant the world to us all. Thank you,” the Farnham family said in a statement.

One of Australia’s finest singers, Farnham last released an album in 2016 with Friends for Christmas, a collaboration with the late, great Olivia Newton-John. The album reached top spot on the ARIA Albums Chart, going on to be certified platinum twice.

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