The sons of music great John Farnham have discussed how their father thought he had a terrible mouth ulcer when in fact it was a malignant tumour, as well as the delicate gesture he made to reassure his frightened family while in the hospital.
The 73-year-old had a 12-hour procedure in August to have a malignant tumor from his mouth and part of his jaw removed, and he is still healing from it.
His children, Robert and James, confessed to A Current Affair how their father reassured them he would be well and expressed his commitment to making a complete recovery.
He was unable to speak when we initially entered the room, but we were like “You’re going to persevere, Dad. You two will clash,” Robert said.
He continued raising his hand and said, “Yeah,”
James, the younger brother, disclosed for the first time how his father had been shocked to learn he had oral cancer.
He said that he was having problems falling asleep since he prefers to lie on his side and that his mother had spotted a lump in his face and forced him to see the dentist.
The dentist also saw it and suggested that he speak with someone who understood more about it.
According to Robert, his father first believed the lump to be a mouth ulcer that was hurting him when it scraped between his teeth.
He said, “It turned out to be malignant.” It’s very scary.
The brothers said that as soon as they learned of the diagnosis, their father called them and gave them the news.
It surprised me, James remarked. “It was not anything anybody had anticipated.”
The brothers commended their mother Jill—who has been married to Farnham for 49 years—for providing stability for the family throughout their father’s illness crisis.
Without Mum, I believe that everything would come apart very, very quickly, said Robert.
Her strength was affirmed by his younger brother James.
He said that his father was recovering after a “very hairy” operation, feeling more “chirpier,” and even making jokes.
The brothers spoke out on what it was like to have a last name that was “extremely public.”