Vivian Campbell says his cancer has returned

August 21, 2026

168

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell says his cancer has returned.

Campbell underwent a bone marrow transplant 18 months ago and later declared himself cancer-free but says now the treatment “didn’t stick”.

The 63-year-old Irish musician, a Def Leppard member since 1993 who was first diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013, says he will probably need another donor transplant within a few years in the hope that it will cure him.

Speaking on El Salvador’s Radio YSKL FM, Campbell explained that he is continuing treatments to manage the disease while refusing to let it dominate his existence.

“There’s only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me,” he said.

“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. I did a donor transplant. Unfortunately, it didn’t stick. So the cancer has returned. And I’m continuing treatments to manage it.

“I’ll probably have to do another transplant within a few years with another donor to try and see if maybe that would cure me,” he continued.

“But 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 [side project] 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.”

Campbell stressed the importance of maintaining momentum. “I think you have to keep moving forward. And I do think that that’s what helped me, even when I was at a really low ebb with cancer treatment.

“The fact that I could still continue to work, that gives me something to live for, something that you enjoy, that you’re passionate about, that you can wake up in the morning and look forward to. I think that deflects, that takes away from focusing too much on cancer.”

“Life is for the living,” he added. “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.”

Campbell noted that he has observed others respond differently. “I have met people in my life who, when they’ve gotten a cancer diagnosis, they’ve only focused on that. And they think, ‘Oh, I can’t do anything. I need to stay in bed. I can’t eat this. I can’t do that. I can’t go there.’ 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.”

The diagnosis also influenced his spending habits. Appearing last year on the Fueled With Chris Cyr podcast, Campbell recalled: “I can tell you it made me spend more money. ’Cause, as Jerry Seinfeld said, ‘You can’t drive money.’ So as soon as I got — not as soon as, but within a year of having my cancer diagnosis, I went and bought a very expensive Porsche. And I remember thinking, ‘Oh, that’s a lot of money. It’s a lot of money.’ And I [thought], ‘I could be dead next week.’”

READ AND HEAR INTERVIEWS WITH DOZENS OF ARTISTS VIA OUR PATREON PAGE. EAVESDROP AS WE CHAT TO THE BIGGEST NAMES IN ROCK AND METAL – FROM 1987 TO THE PRESENT!

Features and stories: