John Farnham rushed to hospital

John Farnham has been rushed to hospital with a respiratory infection.

Farnham was recovering from major surgery at a rehabilitation center before being re-hospitalized this week, his family confirmed in a statement.

“He is currently being treated in hospital for a respiratory infection, but he feels comfortable and is receiving the very best care.”

The legendary Australian singer, 73, underwent a 12-hour operation last August to have a tumor removed at a Melbourne hospital shortly after being diagnosed with oral cancer.

It is ‘unlikely’ that Farnham will ever perform again.

Farnham had only discovered he had the cancer in his mouth after his wife insisted on taking him to the doctor for a check-up.

“The cancerous tumor was in his mouth and was successfully removed,” she said after his surgery.

“We still have a long road of recovery and healing ahead of us, but we know John is up to the task.”

Gaynor Wheatley, Glenn Wheatley’s widow, said Farnham’s family only learned of his cancer a few weeks before his surgery.

“I think John suffers from that man thing that says ‘I’m fine’, and he was lucky, and we have Jill to thank for taking him to the doctors (where they) found this legion in his mouth that is now has been taken out and addressed,” she told The Today Show at the time.

She said there were no complications and thanked the “hero surgeons” who operated on Farnham.

“I think there were 26 surgeons at one point, so they’re our heroes, they’re our rock stars,” Ms Wheatley said.

Farnham previously talked about his smoking habit, which he says started when he was a “stupid” 14-year-old.

He quit cold turkey in 1992 after starring in Jesus Christ Superstar, but picked up the habit again with cigars in 2004.

Just before his 70th birthday, he officially quit smoking for good

‘Stupid habit. It was a little easier to quit cigars, but I better not smoke, I’m a fucking singer for God’s sake,” he told the Herald Sun in 2019.

‘I use my lungs. I’ve already noticed the change. I have increased my reach, I have a little more to give, I have removed a blockage.’

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford said Farnham received a “wake-up call” from one of his sons who told the singer, “Please stop smoking, Father, I don’t want you to die.”

That led to him giving up cigarettes for good.

“He was always huffing, I don’t think he was ever proud of it,” the reporter said.

Farnham said in a separate family statement before his surgery that a cancer diagnosis is something many people deal with every day “and countless others have walked this path before me.”

‘The one thing I know for sure is that we have the very best specialist healthcare professionals in Victoria and we should all be thankful for that. I know it’s me,’ he said.

It comes three years after Farnham was hospitalized with a serious kidney infection – which caused him to put down cigars for good.

More to come