The flanker announced the devastating news in an emotional video interview
Suafoa has announced his decision to retire
New Zealand rugby player Cameron Suafoa has announced his retirement from rugby at the age of 27 after revealing he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The former Maori All Blacks forward – who plays for the Blues in Super Rugby Pacific – was first diagnosed with sarcoma in November 2023 and stepped away from rugby in April the following year as he underwent treatment. His battle with the disease has seen him have a rare cancerous tumour removed from his back, while he has also had three ribs removed and his spine shaved.
While Suafoa was able to return to action later in 2024 with North Harbour in the National Provincial Championship (NPC), he was given a fresh diagnosis last year and he has now been told that his cancer has spread and is terminal.
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As a result, he has decided to hang up his boots, announcing his decision in an emotional video interview shared by the Blues on social media on Thursday.
“I just wanted to give you a little bit of an update on my situation,” he said. “I’ve decided to finish playing rugby officially.
“I was told the unfortunate news that my cancer has spread, and it was terminal now. Unfortunately, I won’t be playing, but I’ll be going through a different type of battle soon. I start having chemo in the coming days.
“This team definitely holds a special place in my heart,” Suafoa added. “I was born and raised in Auckland, and was lucky enough to play for the Blues and be here for a few years.
“I’ve loved every minute of playing and just being in the environment, and everything about this union and this club.”
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The devastating news comes after the the blindside flanker opened up to TFN last summer about the brutal reality of his cancer battle, having undergone major surgery on several occasions.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had to have two back operations,” he explained. “The first one late last year, November, I had a tumor removed from my lower back on my left side, just in my lat muscle, and I had a bit of my lat taken away, just for good measure.
“After that, I had to go through some radiation for about six weeks to really make sure that the sarcoma didn’t come back. Unfortunately, it did end up coming back.”
“I had further operations just six weeks ago,” he added. “I had three ribs removed, also my spine was shaved down, and I had to have a couple of steel rods and screws put in to stabilise my back and a bit of metalwear to replace where my ribs were, because this time the tumour was in between my ribs and growing.
“So I was on the operating table for about nine hours this time to really make sure that they had gotten everything.”
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