Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell is “completely clean” of cancer.
The 62-year-old rocker was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2013, and after taking some time out to recover from treatment, he returned to the stage with the Pour Some Sugar On Me band in May.
After undergoing some “hardcore chemotherapy” and a successful bone marrow transplant, Campbell has revealed his PET scan in April showed no signs of cancer.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, he said: “I’ve been very lucky, actually. I got an early diagnosis for Hodgkin’s lymphoma 13 years ago, 12 years ago, something like that. [I went] through the mill with all sorts of chemo and immunotherapy and combination therapies, and 10 years ago I did an autologous stem cell transplant, which means using my own stem cells. That didn’t work. The cancer kept coming back, and then a couple of years ago, it really got bad. So it was the first time in having to deal with it that I was seriously concerned about it. And the doctors told me really my only chance for of cure was to do a donor transplant. And that’s exactly what I did. Starting last summer during our tour, I started doing more chemo in preparation for it. And then right after the tour, they started giving me very hardcore chemo leading up to the transplant. I was supposed to start after Thanksgiving, and 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. So I did a PET scan in the middle of April and I’m a hundred percent clean, completely in remission for the first time in 12 or 13 years. And I am obviously overjoyed. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”
The guitarist hopes to buy his donor a beer one day to thank him for saving his life.
He said: “A young man, actually. I don’t get to know who he is for a couple of years, but a 21-year-old man. And they always prefer a youthful donor. Obviously, I’m gonna buy him a beer — or two or three.”
Campbell underwent immunotherapy treatment and was part of a clinical trial for the medication pembrolizumab amid his battle with the disease.
Speaking on the Lymphoma Voices podcast in 2023, he said: “I’m still dealing with the lymphoma.
“It’s sort of like – it’s an American expression – Whac-a-Mole. You beat something back and then it pops up somewhere else. But it’s been a pretty consistent battle, but it hasn’t been too difficult for me. I deal with it fine. I’ve been able to live my life.
“For the bulk of those 10 years, I actually was doing immunotherapy. Starting in June of 2015, I started taking a drug called pembrolizumab. I remember at the time my doctors wanted me to do radiation and maybe a combination of radiation and chemo. And I just thought, ‘Well, let’s just try this immunotherapy thing. Let’s see if this works.’ So I managed to get on the trial. I’m happy to say that it worked well for me.”