Aussie singer and former Home and Away star Johnny Ruffo has opened up about his ongoing battle with brain cancer.
After first being diagnosed with the disease back in 2017, Ruffo revealed in November that his cancer had returned following a “week of seizures and excruciating headaches”.
Now, Ruffo has spoken to Seven’s Spotlight to provide an update on his health and how he is dealing with treatment.
In 2017, Ruffo underwent surgery to remove a tumour the size of a first, which was followed by both radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
He described the moment he discovered how much hair he was losing as a result of the treatment as “the worst day of my life.”
“I was at home one day and I was watching television and I just pulled my hand forward and I had a whole clump of hair. I cried and cried and cried,” he said.
He continued: “I went and sat in the shower and it was the worst day of my life. It was horrible. It all just came to me.”
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“You’ve just got to fight, and there’s days where you think, ‘I have got no fight left in me. I have fought the best fight,’ and you just need to find that little something to fight for.”
It wasn’t until two years later in 2019 that Ruffo experienced the “greatest day of [his] life” when he was told that he was in remission.
“I just felt like I could finally get back to life and living again,” he said.
However, he was informed in September last year that the cancer had returned and that he would need to undergo urgent treatment.
In a pre-recorded piece for Spotlight, Ruffo explained that he realised something was wrong when he repeatedly forgot lyrics to songs and suffered 11 seizures in four days.
“I feel like some days I’m forgetting words that I know,” he said.
“Honestly, it’s like a treasure map, there’s no X. So I don’t know what and I’m forgetting things. And it’s so incredibly frustrating.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ruffo also delved into his relationship with girlfriend Tahnee Sims, who he has been dating since 2015.
“I’m going to do everything I can in my power… I’m not going to let her down,” he said.
The Spotlight program concluded with Ruffo and Sims learning that his treatment appeared to be working, as his tumour was stable and had not spread.
“I’m really happy, oh man,” Ruffo said.
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Check out some images posted by Johnny Ruffo on his brain cancer journey:
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