Vivian Campbell confirms his cancer is back – but he’s continuing treatments and is “certainly not slowing down”
Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has shared that his cancer has returned and that he is continuing treatment, but he’s staying resilient and “not slowing down”.
Campbell, who has also played for Dio, White Snake and Thin Lizzy, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2013, and reported that he was in remission in June of last year after receiving a donor stem cell transplant.
Unfortunately, Campbell now reports that the transplant “didn’t stick” and that he may have to do another in a few years. In the meantime, he says he is doing as much with his life as possible, including his work with Def Leppard and his Last In Line supergroup.
Asked how he keeps a positive mindset during his health battles, he tells Francisco Sigüenza of El Salvador’s Radio YSKL FM [via Blabbermouth], “Unfortunately, I have met people in my life who, when they’ve gotten a cancer diagnosis, they’ve only focused on that. They think, ‘I can’t do anything. I need to stay in bed…’ I’ve never felt that way. I’ve always felt like I’m gonna continue to live my life as much as possible. In fact, even more so… I also consider myself very fortunate because I caught my cancer early.
“There’s only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me; in the winter of 2023, I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening. And I realised at that point that I had to do a donor transplant. It was my only hope to survive. And that’s what I did. I did that in January of ’25. Unfortunately, it didn’t stick. So the cancer has returned. And I’m continuing treatments to manage it.”
He goes on to add, “In the meantime, I’m certainly not slowing down. I’m doing as much with my life as possible, not just with Def Leppard and with Last In Line. I’m also rally driving, ’cause I always wanted to do that. So I’ve been doing that more and more, ’cause I love cars and I love driving.
“Life is for the living,” he says, “and I encourage everyone to look after their own health. And if you are unfortunate enough to get a cancer diagnosis to overcome the fear. Fear is inevitable when you’re first told those words. But once you get over that, you gotta realise just how to manage it and how to deal with it as best as possible, and just don’t give in.”
Def Leppard are on tour in October/November this year. You can find out more via the band’s official website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
