Legendary entertainer John Farnham has been diagnosed with cancer, his family has revealed in a shock statement.
The You're The Voice singer is believed to be undergoing surgery in a Victorian hospital this morning to remove a cancerous growth.
Entertainment reporter Peter Ford told 3AW details remained unclear.
"We don't know too much about the type of cancer that he does have. We know there is a tumour involved, but we don't know where on his body that would be," he said.
Surgeons are confident they will be able to remove all the dangerous tissue.
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"Cancer diagnosis is something that so many people face every single day, and countless others have walked this path before me," Farnham said in a statement.
"The one thing I know for sure is that we have the very best specialist healthcare professionals in Victoria, and we can all be grateful for that. I know I am."
The family has requested privacy during this time.
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Farnham has been a mainstay of Australian entertainment since he was billed as teen idol "Johnny Farnham" in the late 1960s.
The 73-year-old's 1986 album Whispering Jack, featuring the single You're The Voice, remains the second-highest selling album in Australia, behind only Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell (1977).
He has received 19 ARIA awards, and was named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1996, and Australian of the Year in 1987.
