Donnie Sutherland's Throat Cancer Has Returned

Renowned Australian former TV/radio presenter and music journalist Donnie Sutherland will undergo surgery to have his voice box removed following the return of an aggressive form of throat cancer.

As Fairfax reports, Sutherland has previously battled the disease, but the returned cancer is sufficiently threatening to warrant the urgent surgery, which is scheduled to be performed next Thursday.

The 68-year-old Sutherland rose to prominence on Aussie TV show and Countdown competitor Sounds Unlimited during the 1970s and '80s, which in recent times has enjoyed a pseudo-revival as a stage show helmed by Sutherland and long-time mate John St. Peeters. Until Sutherland's new diagnosis, there had been plans to take the Sounds Live show on the road again in 2015.

St. Peeters, a singer-songwriter who has enjoyed a long history with Sutherland, said that his friend was remaining as upbeat and pragmatic as possible in light of the news.

"Donnie's an amazing man ... he's a very 'up' kind of person," St. Peeters told Fairfax.

"He's always been the kind of guy who takes things as they come, having been in the world of show business as we have been, there are always surprises. As he said to me last night, 'This is what needs to be done, so it will happen and we'll move on'."