Rock and Roll Hall of Famer recently declared he’s “completely in remission” after a long battle with Hodgkin lymphoma.
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Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell recently shared that he is in remission from the cancer, more than 10 years after his diagnosis.
“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,” Campbell explained on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk. “I am obviously overjoyed. You couldn’t ask for more than that. I had an incredible donor.”
The 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2013.
Campbell explained that he underwent various treatments, including chemo, immunotherapy, and combination therapies, before receiving a successful bone marrow transplant on New Year’s Eve in 2024.
Campbell explained that his earlier attempts to fight cancer were unsuccessful, as it “kept coming back.”
“Ten years ago, I did an oncologist stem cell transplant, which means using my own stem cells,” Campbell recalled on the show. “That didn’t work. The cancer kept coming back. And then a couple of years ago, it really got bad… the doctors told me my only chance for a cure was to do a donor transplant.”
Vivian Campbell Recounts Finding Stem Cell Donor to Treat His Hodgkin Lymphoma
The 62-year-old musician was originally scheduled for a transplant after Thanksgiving. However, he lost his initial donor just 10 days before the surgery, calling it a “kick in the nuts.”
However, doctors identified a 21-year-old donor with perfect genetic compatibility to save Campbell.
“He put his name on the donor registry, for no reason other than he’s a good person,” Campbell explained. “There are a lot of good people out there, I’m glad to say.”
The guitarist added that he won’t know who his donor is for some time.
“After two years, they give you the option to contact your donor,” Campbell told the outlet. “So you can reach out to them. I would imagine [that] in this day and age it’s via e-mail.”
However, when he does get the info, Campbell says he’s going to “buy him a beer or two or three.”
“If they want to correspond with you, they can,” Campbell explained. “They don’t have to. But obviously, it’s a life-saving proposition, so I’d certainly want to express my gratitude.”
Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that begins in lymphocytes, the white blood cells in your lymphatic system. It is considered one of the most treatable forms of cancer, per the Mayo Clinic.