Hey Hey It's Saturday star John Blackman reveals devastating results of his cancer surgery after having his jaw removed: 'I can't do what I love'

John Blackman underwent a massive 12-hour operation in 2018 to remove a cancerous tumor from his mouth and jaw.

And the Hey Hey It's Saturday star has told how his life changed after the life-saving operation.

The 76-year-old says the operation has robbed him of his career, but not his sense of humor.

“When I went to my surgeon to get the test results, he said, 'Look, John, from now on your life is going to change completely. Herald Sun.

'Professionally, financially, emotionally it will never be the same again. You'll never work in front of a microphone again.

'Everything the surgeon said came true. Even now, talking to you, it's painful. I can't do what I love,” John continued.

“Luckily I still have my sense of humor, they didn't remove that.”

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 thankfully his life was saved.

“That was the one that could have actually killed me because it was a very aggressive cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) growing on the top of my head,” he said.

“When I went to my surgeon to get the test results, he said, 'Look John, from now on your life is going to change completely,'” he said. Pictured with his wife

Blackman previously opened up about his condition to hosts Sam Newman and Don Scott You can't be serious podcast.

He also compared his operation to that of John Farnham, who underwent an eleven-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 it was as radical as mine because my entire lower jaw and teeth were removed,” he said.

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

The cancer was discovered during a routine visit to his doctor to check for an inflamed pimple, prompting many surgeries.

“Even now, talking to you, it's painful. I can't do what I love. Luckily I still have my sense of humor, they didn't remove that,” he said

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 thankfully his life was saved.

Blackman's jaw was replaced with part of his femur.

“I had a little pimple under my skin, if you scratched it it turned out to be a BCC,” he said.

'They said it was very aggressive and that it was about to eat away the rest of my face and eventually reach my brain and I would turn brown bread.'

He revealed that another growth had sprouted 'in a crater', as a result of one of the removal procedures, and started moving towards his brain.

Regardless of the ordeal he has been through, Blackman still feels lucky to be alive.

“Adversity, no matter how important or smart you think you are, everyone has setbacks in their lives,” he said.

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