Johnny Ruffo, star of Home and Away, has updated fans on his battle with cancer, over a year after disclosing he was fighting the disease for the second time.
On Sunday, the 33-year-old tweeted a lovely photo with his adoring girlfriend Tahnee Sims, in which he said that his treatment was still going well and that he was ‘not giving up the battle.’
He captioned the photo, ‘Cracking day for a stroll!’ ‘I just wanted to post a quick update…
‘I’m still going strong with my chemotherapy treatment, but I’m weary. Otherwise, I’m doing fine and won’t give up.’ ‘Thank you very much for your help!’
Johnny was seen in the shot grinning close to his lover as they cuddled up to one other while taking a walk in the woods.
Last November, Johnny reported that his brain cancer had returned after a week of’seizures and terrible headaches.’
During a honest interview with Seven’s Spotlight in June, the actor discussed his health fight and the encouraging early indications of therapy.
When reporter Denham Hitchcock asked Johnny if he had considered how 27-year-old Tahnee, whom he has been seeing since 2015, would cope if the worst happened, Johnny’s eyes welled up.
‘That’s not going to happen,’ I say. ‘No matter what, I’m going to fight tooth and nail,’ he declared.
‘I’m going to do all in my power to help.’ Johnny said, ‘I’m not going to let her down.’
Johnny needed surgery in 2017 after a fist-sized tumour with a circumference of 7cm was discovered.
The procedure took around 11 hours, and there was a 20% risk he would die.
Following that, Johnny underwent radiation and chemotherapy, after which he acknowledged that “everything came crumbling down.”
Johnny broke down three or four weeks into radiation after witnessing the treatment’s hair loss.
‘I was at home one day, watching television, and I merely pushed my palm forward, causing a clump of hair to fall out.’ He remembered, “I wept and screamed and cried.”
‘I went to the bathroom and sat in the shower; it was the worst day of my life.’ It was a nightmare. ‘It all came to me at once.’
‘You simply have to fight, and there are days when you say to yourself, “I don’t have any more fight in me. I’ve had the finest fight of my life “, and all you have to do now is find that little bit to fight for,’ he explained.
In 2019, Johnny received the news that he was in remission, which he now regards as the “best day of his life.”
‘It simply felt like I could get back to life and living again,’ Johnny remarked, smiling.
In September of last year, the actor’s world came crumbling down again when he began forgetting song lyrics and experienced 11 seizures in only four days.
He was informed that his cancer had spread and that he would require immediate treatment.
In a pre-recorded segment that appeared on Sunday’s Spotlight, he stated, “I feel like some days I’m forgetting phrases that I know.”
‘To tell you the truth, it’s like a treasure map; there’s no X.’ So I’m not sure what’s going on and I’m forgetting things. And it’s really aggravating.’
Johnny and Tahnee were notified towards the end of the Seven programme that the tumour was stable and had not spread, indicating that therapy was effective.
‘I’m extremely thrilled, oh man,’ Johnny subsequently told Denham, stunned for a while.
On November 24 of last year, Johnny disclosed that he was battling brain cancer for the second time.
‘It is with a sad heart that I have to let you know that after an unexpected week of seizures and severe headaches, I now have another major struggle ahead of me as my brain cancer has returned,’ he said on Instagram.
Johnny had been keeping followers updated on his treatment, posting images of himself in the hospital getting what appeared to be chemotherapy to Instagram in December.
After going to the hospital with terrible headaches in 2017, the TV personality was diagnosed with the illness for the first time.
Johnny rose to popularity after placing third on the talent competition The X Factor in 2011.
From 2013 until 2016, he played Chris Harrington on Home and Away.
