BLUE SEPTEMBER NEWS

Holden opens up about cancer battle

Last Updated: Wednesday 15th of September 2010 at 11:30:21 AM

Former Australian Idol judge and `70s pop sensation Mark Holden has opened up for the first time about his battle this year with thyroid cancer.

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Holden, 56, has told the Australian Women's Weekly he was diagnosed with the disease earlier this year after discovering a lump in his neck last September.

"I was stunned," he tells the magazine in an interview published on Wednesday.

He says both he and wife Anna "were in shock" when given the diagnosis.

"He (the doctor) explained that I had thyroid cancer, that the primary cancer was on my thyroid gland in my throat and the lump was a secondary indication."

Holden underwent a six-hour operation to remove the cancer five months ago.

He is recovering but still suffers restricted movement in his neck and worries he will lose his ability to sing.

"I can speak but I can't raise my voice," he says.

"And while I can sing in the low range, I can't sing in my full voice. I certainly can't sing in my falsetto."

Holden has had a long and varied career in both Australia and the US, working as a singer, actor and songwriter.

He recently completed a law degree and has been working as a barrister.

With no knowledge of his own disease last year, Holden helped to raise awareness of men's cancer as a spokesperson for Blue September.

His family has a history of cancer and his father died of prostate cancer at the age of 64.

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