Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has opened up about the return of his cancer and how his diagnosis has shaped the way he approaches life.
Campbell was first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2013. He discussed his mindset toward the illness, the setback of a failed donor transplant, and his determination to keep living fully despite the diagnosis returning.
“Unfortunately, I have met people in my life who, when they’ve gotten a cancer diagnosis, they’ve only focused on that,” Campbell said. “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. After getting a cancer diagnosis, it amplifies that desire to tick all the boxes, to do the things you wanna do. But I also consider myself very fortunate because I caught my cancer early. So, it’s always been more about managing my cancer.”
Campbell went on to describe a frightening turning point in his treatment and the drastic measure he had to take to survive.
“There’s only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me. In the winter of 2023, I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening,” he said. “And I realized 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.”
He then revealed that the transplant, unfortunately, did not resolve his condition.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t stick. So the cancer has returned. And I’m continuing treatments to manage it,” Campbell said. “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. 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 [Vivian’s long-running side project] Last In Line.”
Despite the ongoing health battle, Campbell shared that he has also pursued a lifelong passion outside of music.
“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,” he said. “And as a child, I thought, ‘If I don’t play guitar for a living, I’m gonna be a race car driver.’ So, I’m very, very, very fortunate and blessed that I get to do both.”
He closed with a message of encouragement for others facing similar diagnoses.
“So, yeah, life is for the living. And I encourage everyone to look after their own health,” Campbell said. “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 realize just how to manage it and how to deal with it as best as possible, and just don’t give in.”
Campbell’s latest update adds another chapter to a battle that has stretched on for well over a decade. That battle has been marked by long stretches of treatment, brief moments of hope, and now another setback.
The guitarist first went public with his Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis in June 2013. In the years since, he has undergone three separate rounds of chemotherapy in an effort to beat the disease. Those treatments kept the cancer at bay for years, even as Campbell continued to tour and record with Def Leppard throughout much of that stretch.
Late last year, with his oncologist out of other options, Campbell underwent a bone marrow transplant as a last-resort measure. The procedure initially appeared to pay off. By June 2025, Campbell announced he was completely in remission for the first time in twelve years, calling himself the “luckiest man in the world” after the milestone.
That remission, however, proved short-lived. The cancer’s return now leaves Campbell facing another round of treatment. A second donor transplant is likely on the horizon within the next few years as he and his medical team search for a more lasting solution.
Even with the disease back, Campbell’s outlook remains unchanged from the resolve he’s shown since 2013 — continuing to tour, record, and now race cars, all while treating his health as something to manage rather than something to define him.
