John Blackman details his extreme surgery after part of his jaw was removed in mouth cancer battle

He’s been through an ordeal to rid his body of cancer. 

And now, radio titan John Blackman has opened up about the massive 12-hour operation to remove a cancerous growth on his mouth and jaw.

Blackman, 75, underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his mouth after revealing he had been diagnosed with cancer four years ago. 

Radio titan John Blackman (pictured) has broken his silence about the massive 12-hour operation to remove a cancerous growth on his mouth and jaw

He was in good hands though, being led by the same surgeon as singer John Farnham during his major procedure in August last year.

Blackman opened up about his condition to hosts Sam Newman and Don Scott on the You Cannot Be Serious podcast this week.

He also compared his surgery to Farnham’s, who underwent an 11-and-a-half-hour surgery to remove a tumour from his mouth after his family revealed he had been diagnosed with the cancer six months ago.

‘I don’t think his was as radical as mine because I had all of my lower jaw removed along with the teeth,’ he said.

He opened up about his condition to hosts Sam Newman and Don Scott on the You Cannot Serious podcast this week

In August, days after Farnham’s operation, Blackman told 7News that the You’re the Voice hitmaker’s recovery won’t be easy.

‘Hopefully John will get through this with as little angst as possible, and he’s going to need all the support he can get,’ said the Hey Hey It’s Saturday star.

‘I know his family is very loving and they’re all going to gather around him,’ he added.

Blackman also said he cried after learning about his old friend’s diagnosis.

Farnham (pictured in Perth in January 2020) underwent an almost 12-hour surgery to remove a tumour from his mouthin August

In August, days after Farnham’s operation, Blackman told 7News that the You’re the Voice hitmaker’s recovery won’t be easy 

Blackman, of Hey Hey It’s Saturday fame, was diagnosed with a severe case of skin cancer known as a basal cell carcinoma in August 2018.

The cancer was discovered on a routine trip to his doctor to see about an inflamed pimple, which prompted many operations to follow.

More recently, Blackman’s jaw was substituted with a portion of his thigh bone. 

Blackman, of Hey Hey It’s Saturday fame, was diagnosed with a severe case of skin cancer known as a basal cell carcinoma in August 2018 

‘I had a little pimple under my skin, you scratch at it and it turned out it was a BCC,’ he said.

‘They said it was really aggressive and it was about to eat away the rest of my face and eventually get to my brain and I’d be brown bread.’

He revealed another growth had sprouted ‘in a crater’, a result of one of the removal procedures, and started to move towards his brain.

No matter the ordeal he’s been through, Blackman still feels fortunate to be alive.

‘Adversity, doesn’t matter how important or smart you think you are, everyone has some sort of adversity in their life,’ he said. 

 The cancer was discovered on a routine trip to his doctor to see about an inflamed pimple, which prompted many operations to follow. More recently, Blackman’s jaw was substituted with a portion of his thigh bone