“There are a lot of good people out there”: Vivian Campbell announces his cancer is in remission thanks to stem cell donor
Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has confirmed his cancer is now in remission thanks to a stem cell donor. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in 2013.
Confirming the news in an interview on Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk [via Louder], Campbell explains: “I did a PET scan in the middle of April, and I’m 100% clean, completely in remission for the first time in 12 or 13 years. And I’m obviously overjoyed. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”
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The donor was said to be a perfect match with 10 out of 10 genetic markers, after several unsuccessful stem cell transplants. Campbell has said he’d love to thank the donor – a 21-year-old man – and “buy him a beer or two or three”. “After two years, they give you the option to contact your donor, so you can reach out to them,” Campbell says.
The generous donor “put his name on the donor registry, for no reason other than he’s a good person”. “There are a lot of good people out there, I’m glad to say,” he says.
Campbell also explains that his recovery was not initially smooth, and finding such a clear match was difficult to begin with: “I lost my donor 10 days beforehand, so that was a kick in the nuts. But I was very fortunate that they found me another one in December. And on New Year’s Eve, I went into hospital. I was in for about three and a half weeks, and I did what has turned out to be a really, really successful transplant.”
Back in April, Rick Allen expressed his hopes to Eddie Trunk that Campbell would be able to join them on tour. The success of the operation means, according to Louder, he will be joining Def Leppard on their summer tour this year, including headliner dates in both the US and Canada. Bret Michael and Extreme will also be joining Def Leppard on select tour dates.
For tickets and a full list of dates, head to Def Leppard’s official website.
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