Johnny Ruffo struggles to speak on Sunrise due to terminal brain cancer

Johnny Ruffo has spoken of the devastating impact his terminal brain cancer diagnosis has had on his memory.

During a heartbreaking interview on Sunrise on Tuesday, the 34-year-old struggled to speak as he explained how writing his new book had helped him to remember all the ‘happy and sad memories’.

‘A lot of it you don’t remember because you go through such trauma especially with the brain cancer,’ he said.

‘My memory is nothing [compared] to what it used to be, so I forget a lot of things… [Writing] brings up things, whether it be happy or sad memories.’

Johnny also said he felt like he ‘hit a brick wall’ when he was diagnosed with brain cancer five years ago.

‘I felt like I was just kicking goals and I couldn’t miss. And then all of a sudden I just hit a brick wall and everything just came crashing down on me and the whole world came crumbling down,’ he said.

‘But I am so grateful I’ve had this incredible support network around. Tahnee [Sims, his girlfriend] being one of them. Those people around you are the ones that keep you going.’

Johnny (pictured on The Project on Monday) is promoting his book about his cancer journey 

It comes after Johnny revealed on Monday his diagnosis is terminal and he fears  how Tahnee will cope once he is gone.

‘You can only imagine how difficult it’s been for her,’ the former Home and Away star told host Carrie Bickmore on The Project.

‘What plays in my head a lot is, I hate to say this, how hard it may be for her if something does happen to me,’ he continued.

‘So, it’s something that I don’t want to think about. It just gets me a little bit emotional about it because I know at some point something will happen, whether it’s, you know, a month from now or 10 years from now or 20 years.’

‘My memory is nothing to what it used to be so I forget a lot of things… [so writing] brings up things whether it be happy or sad memories,’ he said

Johnny also said he felt like he ‘hit a brick wall’ when he was diagnosed with brain cancer five years ago

Johnny told Carrie that he has already outlived his life expectancy with the disease.   

‘At some point it will get me but I’m still fighting. Still kicking on. Looking up my diagnosis and my tumour, the average life expectancy was three years,’ he admitted. 

‘And for me it’s now been five years. I’m already winning. My goal now is to try and help as many people as I can and also live a happy life’.

Johnny was first diagnosed with the disease in 2017 after he went to hospital with painful migraines.

In August of the same year, he had a 7cm brain tumour surgically removed, before undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

It comes after Johnny revealed on Monday his diagnosis is terminal and he fears how girlfriend Tahnee Sims (left) will cope once he is gone