“I’m so happy!”: Johnny Ruffo’s life no longer on hold

It was thumbs up for Johnny Ruffo, his family, friends and fans, with confirmation that his latest treatment in his long battle against brain cancer has turned the corner.

“Great news. The spine’s all clear,” he told Spotlight‘s Denham Hitchcock last night.

“The tumour in the right frontal lobe and brain stem all stable. Everything’s great.

“I’m so happy.”

The X Factor and Home & Away star, 33, has endured years of treatment and uncertainty having been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in 2017.

“The day that it truly sunk in was maybe, I don’t know, three or four weeks into radiotherapy. I was at home one day, and I was watching television, and I just went to, like this, just scratch my hair, and I pulled my hand forward and I had a whole clump of hair in my hand, and I just broke down and I cried and cried and cried,” he said.

Learning he was in remission was the “greatest day of my life”.

“I just felt like I can finally get back to life and living again. and even though you never really truly know that it’s never … it’s never 100 per cent, because there’s always that chance that it may come back.”

Indeed, three years late the cancer returned and spread to another area of his brain.

Spotlight cameras filmed Ruffo and girlfriend Tahnee Sims as they were given the latest news on the phone, due to COVID restrictions. It was very good news.

Hitchcock told viewers that while there was still a long road ahead, his life was no longer on hold.

Best wishes for further recovery, Johnny!

curebraincancer.org.au