The world sucks at the moment, so how about a little bit of good news? Def Leppard’s famed guitarist Vivian Campbell is officially in remission, following a difficult battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
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For reference, Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. This type of cancer can be treated with everything from chemotherapy to radiation therapy, and if detected early on, can be cured with such treatments.
Vivian Campbell has been struggling with the disease since around 2013, and it looks like the Def Leppard shredder is finally in remission, per recent reports from Campbell himself.
Vivian Campbell announced that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in mid-2013. Naturally, this shocked his fans, as he had been touring with Def Leppard through the summer of 2013. Campbell clearly wasn’t going to let the diagnosis put a halt on his career, and he admirably trucked through it.
Later that year, Campbell announced that he was partially in remission, but the following year would take back the statement and noted that it was premature. From 2014 to 2015, Campbell noted that he had been using stem-cell therapy and immunotherapy as treatments, and said that using pembrolizumab had been helping. Sadly, in 2023, Campbell told fans that the pembrolizumab was losing its effectiveness at keeping the cancer at bay, and that he had to opt for chemotherapy instead.
That wasn’t good news, but it looks like it paid off in the end.
Vivan Campbell’s Brave Battle With Hodgkin’s Lymphoma May Be Coming to an End, Provided He Stays in Remission
The 62-year-old rock star recently returned to the stage with Def Leppard last month, and he announced during an interview with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation show that he is cancer-free! The announcement came after “hardcore” chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, and a recent PET scan that revealed no signs of cancerous cells.
“The doctors told me really my only chance for of cure was to do a donor transplant,” said Campbell. “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.”
Campbell went on to say that a PET scan conducted in April came up clean. He noted that he is 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.”
Campbell also noted that he would like to buy his donor a cold one someday as a thank you for saving his life.
Photo by Per Ole Hagen/Redferns
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