Roman Reigns Pours His Heart Out Addressing His Cancer Battle
Roman Reigns first battled cancer at the age of 22 in 2007, when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a rare blood cancer.
Early symptoms were subtle and unexplained, but further examination revealed dangerously high white blood cell counts and an enlarged spleen, which led to his diagnosis. Treatment put his cancer into remission, allowing The Tribal Chief to pursue his dreams in professional football and later transition to WWE stardom.
In October 2018, during his run as WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns shocked the wrestling world when he announced on live television that his leukemia had returned after eleven years. He vacated his title and stepped away from wrestling to begin intense treatment, including oral chemotherapy.
Remarkably, after only four months of focused treatment, Roman Reigns returned to WWE in February 2019, announcing he was in remission and resuming his athletic career. He continues to take medication for leukemia and remains proactive about his health, striving to inspire others battling cancer and raising awareness through partnerships with organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Roman Reigns’ Cancer News was Difficult to Accept For Him
Roman Reigns recently sat down for an interview on Stephanie McMahon’s What’s Your Story podcast. During their conversation, he opened up about his cancer battle and how he dealt with it physically, mentally, and psychologically. He acknowledged that the diagnosis was heavy news, and for a long period of time, he couldn’t digest the fact that he had blood cancer.
Roman Reigns said, “I compartmentalized to my mama. Honestly, I mean, that’s when, so I’m at the Minnesota Vikings camp. All that’s like, football is like crescendoing. It’s like, this is it. Like, it’s all boiled up, boiled up to this point. We need to make this team. I mean, it was, all the marbles were in the basket. So I was so full on that, that I don’t think I even accepted the news properly. I don’t even think I took the diagnosis.”
“[And they found it because you did a physical?] Yeah, well, with the physical, we did extensive blood work. And it wasn’t even like in the molecular testing room. It was just in the blood lab, like the CBC. My white blood cells were, I think they were like 70,000 at that point. And you, I mean, healthy people, you’re not fighting off any sickness or anything. I think you sit in between like 4,000 and like 10,000, 11,000, something like that.”
“So I was, my body was fighting something. [And you didn’t feel sick?] No, that’s the thing. It’s because it’s cancer of the blood. Was I a little tired? Probably. But I was also 300 pounds, college guy. You know, we were drinking beer every other day. Doing college stuff and being a football guy. But yeah, it was just one of those situations because I didn’t feel it. I wasn’t going through chemo. I didn’t have to do true radiation.”
“There was a large bit of like what I believe they call imposter syndrome, of people feeling bad for me. And I’m like, don’t feel bad. And you shouldn’t have something because, like there are little children who are going, you know, I’m, thank God I’m lucky enough to take a medication. But I don’t know. I think it was just mental. Absolutely. But it was just a situation, I think. Because I had so much going on in my life, and honestly, it’s always been that way, that I’ve never been able to let it sit on me,” Roman Reigns added. (From 54:00 – 56:10)
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Also read: Roman Reigns Shares Rare Personal Details About Wife and Kids