Hey Hey It’s Saturday star John Blackman has revealed that he is facing yet another cancer battle.
The 74-year-old – who is best known for voicing puppet Dickie Knee – was diagnosed with bone cancer a month ago.
“Four weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a very unexpected bone cancer on the top of my noggin and the possibility of brain cancer beneath (yes, I actually do have a brain),” he shared in a Facebook post.
“This was the same aggressive cancer that took my jaw four years ago.
“Happily, the cancer (if there is a happy side to cancer) was spreading up and down and not in multiple directions. This could have made surgery improbable,” he added.
“Following PET and CAT scans and a radioactive MRI, my plastic surgeon Frank consulted with my neurosurgeon, Patrick, and together they devised a plan of attack.
“The eight-hour surgery was ten days ago,” he went on to say.
“The cancer infected bone has gone and been replaced with a titanium mesh cover; a skin graft has replaced all of the skin on top of my head; and brain biopsies taken during surgery are clear.
“A great result with enormous gratitude to the dedicated doctors and nurses at The Alfred – true heroes each and every one of them! Six weeks of daily radiotherapy begin next week.”
The 74-year-old previously battled an aggressive form of skin cancer (basal-cell carcinoma), resulting in him undergoing a 10-hour operation to replace part of his jaw with a leg bone.
“I sound awful and I probably look awful but believe it or not I’m a very, very healthy,” he told 9News at the time.
“To me it’s still the same John Blackman voice just how it comes out is slightly different.
“They didn’t take out the voice box, they didn’t take out the motor, just the exhaust sounds a little woofy.”
