MEN’S HEALTH
He once called a donor transplant his “only hope to survive.”
A legendary rock guitarist who underwent a donor transplant revealed his cancer has returned.
Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell, 63, gave an update on his health during an interview with El Salvador-based radio station YSKL.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t stick,” he said in the August 12 interview. “So the cancer has returned, and I’m continuing treatments to manage it.”
The revelation comes just 1.5 years after he received a donor transplant in January 2025.
In 2013, Campbell released a statement in which he said he was undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare blood cancer.
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“There’s only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me,” Campbell said now. “In the winter of 2013, I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening.”
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That was the moment, the British rock star said, when he realized he had to get a donor transplant: “It was my only hope to survive.”
While Campbell did not specify the type of transplant he underwent, according to the Mayo Clinic, bone marrow transplants are used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma. The procedure involves a doctor administering stem cells into the body through an intravenous line.
Campbell predicted he would likely undergo another transplant in the next few years.
Campbell said his music career “takes away from focusing too much on cancer.”
“The fact that I could still continue to work, that gives me something to live for,” he said. “Something that you enjoy, that you’re passionate about, that you can wake up in the morning and look forward to.”
Campbell joined English rock band Def Leppard in 1992, after the death of original lead guitarist and songwriter Steve Clark. Clark died in 1991 at age 30.
The band, which has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has toured since 1978. Other members include Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, and Phil Collen.
Campbell is also writing new music with his other band, Last in Line. He has previously been a part of Dio and Whitesnake.
Campbell said receiving a cancer diagnosis has amplified his desire to live his life to the fullest and “tick all the boxes.”
“I’m certainly not slowing down,” he said. “I’m doing as much with my life as possible.”
He has, however, seen others limit their lives due to their diagnoses: “They think ‘Oh, I can’t do anything. I need to stay in bed, you know, I can’t eat this. I can’t do that. I can’t go there.’”
“I’ve never felt that way,” he said. “I’ve always felt like I’m going to continue to live my life as much as possible. In fact, even more so after getting a cancer diagnosis.”
But Campbell also recognized his luck with catching his cancer early due to a persistent cough: “It’s always been more about managing my cancer.”
