Roman Reigns has opened up about his ongoing battle with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), explaining why his medical history makes him cautious about experimenting with recovery treatments such as peptides. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion also revealed that his condition remains under control, although he has not reached molecular remission.
“The OTC” discussed his health during his appearance on “Men’s Health’s Strong Talk” podcast, where he was asked about recovery tools and peptides such as BPC-157. Rather than making a broad judgment about their effectiveness, Reigns explained that his medical history means he cannot take unnecessary risks with treatments he has not cleared with his doctor.
“Well, with my medical history, I have to be very careful. I’m, you know—yeah, you know, I’m still to this day, down to the wire, fighting CML. So I have to be very, very careful when it comes to different things like that. So I try—anything invasive, any type of, you know, anything like that, I just can’t take a chance on it.”
Reigns acknowledged that he has heard positive things about peptides but said he has not tried them. He left the door open to discussing them with his doctor in the future, but for now, he is sticking with the approach that has allowed him to continue performing.
“I’ve heard all kinds of cool stuff about that, but I just—I haven’t been able to break into that or sample. Maybe one day it’ll be a question for my doctor, but it’s just something that—yeah—I’ve been able to just outwork everything at this point. So if I can keep doing that, then I’ll stay that route for now.”
Roman Reigns then provided more detail about the current state of his CML. He said the disease is under control and below the baseline, but explained that molecular remission requires the remaining traces to be almost completely eliminated.
“That’s right. Yeah. And it’s—we’re under control and we’re under the actual baseline, but to be in molecular remission, it has to be almost zeroed out, and there’s just still those minute traces, like 0.31, you know what I mean? But they count. So I still just have to be very careful and very smart, you know what I mean?”
His comments also explain why he remains hesitant about treatments he does not know enough about. Reigns was careful to frame his final assessment as a personal opinion rather than medical advice.
“So, yeah, I have not—I would say, for me, and this is someone who doesn’t have enough knowledge on it, peptides: overrated.”
The health update comes while “The Head of the Table” remains at the center of WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship picture. He retained the title against Penta on the September 14 episode of RAW in Mexico City, and LA Knight attacked him with a BFT after the match. WWE subsequently made Reigns vs. Knight official for Money in the Bank on October 10.
Roman Reigns Opens Up About Body Dysmorphia and His Physical Prime
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Reigns’ Men’s Health conversation also went beyond his leukemia battle and recovery methods. The 41-year-old discussed how he views his physique at this stage of his career, saying that he believes he is in his physical prime while still dealing with the kind of self-criticism that can affect people regardless of how they look.
The World Heavyweight Champion also commented on body dysmorphia, saying:
“We all have a little bit of body dysmorphia, right? We’re all fighting this little critic in our head. I think I’m in my prime physically. You know, and there are things—and this is my body dysmorphia, though. We all have those little areas that are the first thing you look at. Whatever your area is. You can have the best shoulders and arms in the world, but I look at my stomach or whatever it may be. That’s a part of that body dysmorphia that we’re all struggling with.
He added:
“And, you know, it’s one of those deals where I think if you just keep working at it, don’t let whatever time frame you’re under right now dictate what you can continue to work at and progress at, because it’s not done until it’s done. Until we’re not here anymore, there’s something that we can still do.”
For Reigns, that mindset extends beyond appearance. His point was that progress does not have to stop because someone has reached a particular age or missed a self-imposed deadline. He believes there is always something left to improve, whether that means his physique, his performance or simply the way he approaches his goals.
Reigns was first diagnosed with CML in 2007 at age 22 and initially went into remission. The disease returned in 2018, forcing him to relinquish the Universal Championship and step away from WWE, before he announced in February 2019 that he was back in remission. His experience has also led to a longstanding relationship with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, including work to raise awareness and support for people affected by blood cancers.
Now, Reigns is balancing that long-term health battle with another demanding chapter of his WWE career. With LA Knight next in line for the World Heavyweight Championship, Roman Reigns’ latest comments show why managing his health remains an important part of how he approaches life outside the ring while he continues defending his title inside it.
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