After 10 months of intense chemotherapy and an extensive surgery, Home and Away star Johnny Ruffo is all smiles as he powers through his cancer journey.
The former X Factor Australia contestant’s life was turned upside down in August of last year when what he believed to be a migraine turned out to be a very serious brain tumour.
Speaking on The Today Show on Wednesday morning, Johnny said he was “feeling good” as he reached the last couple of months of chemo, which will hopefully mean the end to his treatment.
“I’m on the up and up now, I’ve only got a couple of months left (of chemo) and hopefully then I’ll be in the clear and after that it will be monitoring, making sure its not metastasising – spreading or growing,” he said.
Recalling the moment his life took a dramatic turn, Johnny told the morning show hosts Sonia Kruger and David Campbell, it has been a challenging journey with many hiccups along the way. After heading to the hospital for a checkup on his supposed migraine late last year, the much-loved star said he quickly fell into a coma and was unbeknown to the drastic measures taken to save his life.
“I went into a coma before they knew I had a tumour, so they put me through a MRI and then discovered it and operated,” he explained.
“I woke up two or three days later … and was like wow!
“By this stage my family had flown from Perth, so I didn’t really have time to let it sink in.”
From singing and dancing his way into the hearts of Aussie’s on The X Factor and showing off his acting skills in Home and Away to having to learn the basics of life again, it was a shock for the talented 30-year-old.
“I had to learn to do most things again, I couldn’t walk in a straight line,” he said.
“For them to be able to release me out of hospital, I had to go through a cognitive skills test, the first time I did it I got 28 out of 30… I needed to get them all right.
“I eventually obviously completed that … things are good now, I am on the mend.”
And as if we didn’t need another reason to love the Aussie star, while battling through treatment, Johnny took part in the Walk to Save Our Sons in March.
Raising thousands of dollars for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the brave fighter took part in the 157km walk around Sydney just days after completing a round of chemo.
This Saturday he will celebrate the success from the charity walk at the Save Our Sons Charity Gala.