John Blackman underwent a massive 12-hour operation to remove a cancerous growth in his mouth and jaw in 2018.
And the Hey Hey It’s Saturday star opened up about how his life changed after the life-saving operation.
The 76-year-old claims the operation took away his career, but not his sense of humor.
“When I went to see my surgeon to get the test results, he said, ‘Look, John, your life is going to completely change from now on,’” he tells the Herald of the sun.
‘Professionally, financially and emotionally, it will never be the same. You will never work in front of a microphone again.
John Blackman (pictured) underwent a massive 12-hour operation to remove a cancerous growth in his mouth and jaw in 2018.
‘Everything the surgeon said has come true. Even now talking to you is painful. I can’t do what I love,’ John continued.
“Thankfully, I still have my sense of humor, they didn’t take it away from me.”
In 2022, John faced a second battle when he was diagnosed with brain cancer, which was removed with a six-hour operation that left a titanium mesh plate in his head, but fortunately saved his life.
“That was the one that really could have killed me, because it was a very aggressive cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) that was growing right above my head,” he said.
“When I went to see my surgeon to get the test results, he said, ‘Look, John, your life is going to completely change from now on,’” he said. In the photo with his wife
Blackman previously spoke about his condition with hosts Sam Newman and Don Scott on the You can’t be serious podcast.
He also compared his surgery to that of John Farnham, who underwent an 11-and-a-half-hour operation to remove a tumor from his mouth after his family revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer six months ago.
“I don’t think his was as radical as mine because they removed my entire lower jaw along with my teeth,” he said.
Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s Blackman was diagnosed with a severe case of skin cancer known as basal cell carcinoma in August 2018.
The cancer was discovered during a routine visit to his doctor to see an inflamed pimple, prompting many surgeries.
‘Even now talking to you is painful. I can’t do what I love. Thank goodness I still have a sense of humor, they didn’t take that away from me,’ she said.
Blackman’s jaw was replaced with a part of the femur.
“I had a little pimple under the skin, you scratched it and it turned out it was a BCC,” he said.
“They said it was very aggressive and that it was about to eat the rest of my face and eventually reach my brain and turn me into brown bread.”
He revealed that another growth had sprouted “in a crater,” as a result of one of the removal procedures, and began moving toward his brain.
No matter what ordeal he’s been through, Blackman still feels lucky to be alive.
“Adversity, no matter how important or smart you think you are, everyone has some type of adversity in their life,” he said.
Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s Blackman was diagnosed with a severe case of skin cancer known as basal cell carcinoma in August 2018.