Christiana Balogun had printed a date on her boots as she took the field for England against Italy in the Women's Six Nations: 4 November, 2022. To most spectators, it was just a number. To Balogun, it marked the day she finished her final round of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive, fast-growing cancer. Nine months later, she was making her international debut.
The back-row forward's journey began in May 2022 when she moved from Wasps to Bristol Bears. Still settling into her new club and city at age 24, she found a lump in her neck during pre-season training. Three months of testing followed before the diagnosis arrived: cancer. The timeline that came next was brutal. "The day I found out my diagnosis I started treatment six days later so there wasn't a lot of time to process what was happening, what I was going through," Balogun said. She even packed her rugby kit for her hospital stay, convinced she'd train on Monday, a decision that now strikes her as denial in the face of the unthinkable.
Three rounds of intense chemotherapy ravaged her body in ways both visible and invisible. She lost her hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Her immune system collapsed, leaving her vulnerable to infections and requiring blood transfusions that drained her of energy. Mouth ulcers and relentless itching became the rhythm of her days. But the physical toll paled beside the emotional one. Newly arrived in Bristol without family nearby, surrounded only by teammates she'd known for a few months, Balogun found herself isolated at the moment she needed support most. "Emotionally it was difficult because I had just moved to Bristol, I didn't have any close or long-term friends in Bristol," she said.
The doctors gave her the all-clear in January 2023, but finishing treatment wasn't the same as returning to life. Balogun emerged from chemotherapy as someone she no longer recognized. Weight gain and the loss of her hair shifted not just her appearance but her identity as an athlete. The mental aftermath extended months beyond the final infusion. "You essentially have to re-find yourself again and mourn the person you were before the treatment," she reflected.
Yet Balogun did return. She represented the Barbarians in 2023 and fought her way back into Bristol's squad in the Premiership Women's Rugby. By November 2024, just over two years after her diagnosis, she was in the England squad for the Six Nations. When injury sidelined Maddie Feaunati days before the Italy match, Balogun's number came up. Midway through the second half, she entered the game, her boots bearing that date—the date of her last chemo, the day she became cancer-free.
The week held another layer of significance: it marked a year since her father passed away. Running out for England, Balogun carried him with her. "It did feel very special to be able to run out on the Saturday and remember the dad that he was to me," she said. "He would have always wanted me to pursue the rugby career and what I've got going on now and just thinking back to it I know he'd be very, very proud of me."
Now 28, Balogun has signed a new contract with Bristol ahead of their final match of the season. The past four years have rewritten how she meets difficulty. She carries with her a simple mantra: you are beyond the hard times you're experiencing right now. It's temporary. There are other things to reach and achieve.