One of the Pacific's most famous voices will be temporarily silenced this week when celebrated Papua New Guinean singer George Telek undergoes surgery in Australia to remove a cancer from his mouth.
On Thursday a plastic surgeon at a Brisbane hospital will reconstruct the ARIA award-winning musician's bottom lip after part of it is removed to cut away a large tumour.
The singer's long-time friend and collaborator David Bridie said Telek, as he is known, was diagnosed with cancer the day after he performed at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
"He's a little poret [frightened] like anyone would be, a bit frightened and a bit uncertain because it's all a totally new thing," he said.
"But I think George is really overwhelmed by the messages of support from his friends."
'Like a surgeon losing his hand'
Family, friends and the expatriate PNG community in Brisbane have rallied around Telek to support him and his family by providing accommodation, food and transport during the difficult time.
His cousin Alli Moore, who lives in Brisbane, said the cancer diagnosis hit everyone connected to him "like a tonne of bricks".
"This is his tool," she said.
"It'd be like a surgeon losing his hand.
"It just deepened the sadness knowing that his mouth is his instrument."
The surgeon and anaesthetist involved in the operation have offered their services for free after becoming aware of Telek's fame.
Ms Moore said doctors believe his chances of recovery are good and they say he is well placed to regain the use of his mouth.
"He is a trained singer, he's used to using his vocal chords so the best therapy the surgeons have said is to just try and sing and keep on singing," she said.
The surgery will also involve the removal of lymph glands from his neck and be followed by radiation therapy.
A crowd-funding campaign has been started to raise $60,000 to help cover the medical costs and to support Telek and his family during the recovery period.
