Johnny Ruffo’s career was flourishing while he was appearing on Home and Away and touring with One Direction, and it continued to flourish even after those appearances.
He described his achievement by saying that he was “kicking goals and unable to miss.”
Yet, all changed in 2017 when the musician and actor was diagnosed with a brain tumour. This caused the “roof to cave in.”
After Ruffo successfully overcame the initial stage of his illness, his medical team anticipated that he would be in remission by the year 2019.
But in the year 2020, the cancer returned, and it is more devastating than ever before.
In a tell-all interview with 7Entertainment, Ruffo highlighted the highs and terrible lows of his life and career. The interview was conducted in conjunction with Ruffo’s new book, No Finish Line.
Ruffo wrestled with the decision of whether or not to audition for X Factor in 2009.
The vocalist, who was born in Perth, was working as a concreter at the time, and he was anxious about how he would feel about himself if he was unsuccessful.
Ruffo’s audition was a spur-of-the-moment choice, and he just had thirty seconds to impress the casting directors.
He believes that if he hadn’t taken the chance, he would still be working in construction today, and he attributes his timely arrival to “fate” rather than his own initiative.
Ruffo first became interested in his current girlfriend, Tahnee Sims, while watching the 2015 season of Home and Away.
The woman was working as a backup dancer at the time she and her partner first connected on Instagram.
Ruffo claims that his girlfriend “truly would not be here” if it weren’t for her “many times when it’s been touch and go.” Ruffo believes that his girlfriend’s life has been in the balance numerous times.
Ruffo recounts that on that day, doctors “rushed me to the MRI” and “discovered a tumour (that) was seven centimetres – so it was roughly the size of a tennis ball.”
Ruffo had radiation therapy and chemotherapy in an effort to reduce the size of the tumour.
However, one of the potential negative consequences of the treatment is decreased fertility.
Ruffo asserted that before he was diagnosed with cancer, the most meaningful aspects of his life included music, acting, his fiancée, his family, and going out to parties.
Nevertheless, all of a sudden he found himself struggling with the question of whether or not it was necessary to save his sperm in the freezer in the event that he became sterile.
According to the report, Ruffo and Sims state that they were “pleased” that they had not intended to have children before the pregnancy occurred.
In 2019, Ruffo announced that he had recovered.
Ruffo suffered a severe recurrence of his headaches a year later.
Ruffo calls the situation “the worst,” referring to the fact that they had to wait weeks for confirmation of whether or not the cancer had returned.
After the actor experienced 11 seizures over a span of four days, he was finally brought to the hospital for an MRI.
The scan revealed the presence of several newly developing malignancies.
The musician, who is now 34 years old, has stated that he intends to continue making music, look for acting jobs, and research potential to host television shows.
Ruffo asserts that he receives chemotherapy injections once every three weeks.
No Finish Line: The Johnny Ruffo Story, Ruffo’s book, is currently on sale.