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Home / Entertainment

Johnny Ruffo returns to Dancing With The Stars Australia to make cancer admission

By Mitchell Van Homrigh
news.com.au·
4 Apr, 2022 04:05 AM2 mins to read

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Johnny Ruffo has smiled throughout his battle against cancer. Photos / Instagram

Johnny Ruffo has smiled throughout his battle against cancer. Photos / Instagram

Singer, dancer and former Home And Away actor Johnny Ruffo has returned to the set of Dancing With The Stars Australia to detail his fight against cancer.

It is a familiar set for Ruffo who competed in the competition in 2012.

The cancer diagnosis was a shock to the performer who suffered blindingly painful headaches before a brain tumour was found in 2017.

But he told fans about his progress on DWTS on Sunday night.

"Great news, the tumour in the right frontal lobe and the brain stem is all stable, everything is great," he said.

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"They said there's a 20 per cent chance I might die from the operation, but if I didn't have the operation there was a 100 per cent chance I'd die.

"So, it's not really much of a choice. I did have to have it."

The actor added, he would be appearing on the upcoming celebrity season of DWTS.

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"I'm lucky enough to have been invited back as a special guest on Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars," he said.

"I'm really glad to be back performing, I just want to dance again."

Johnny Ruffo was in the fight for his life. Photo / news.com.au
Johnny Ruffo was in the fight for his life. Photo / news.com.au

The performer has documented his battle against the condition since it first appeared in 2017. He had to go undergo life saving surgery to remove a 7cm sized tumour from his brain when the cancer returned in 2020.

The actor was first aware of the tumour after having severe headaches.

He opened up to Fitzy & Wippa about the ordeal in 2017.

The 34-year-old told the radio hosts he'd been getting headaches for years but, "put it down to drinking too much."

He said it was a normal Sunday afternoon and he had, "this really bad headache" so he headed to the doctor who gave him some medication which "didn't do anything".

Ruffo was lying on the couch, his head absolutely throbbing. He said, "It felt like there was a fire inside".

"I tried to talk to the missus and I slurred all my words and mixed them all up."

Ruffo's girlfriend decided it was time to go to emergency.

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The hospital initially though he had a migraine so they put him on a drip, but he, "still wasn't feeling great."

"It was unbelievable, like the most excruciating pain I've ever felt. I can't even describe it."

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