New York Dolls’ David Johansen shared Stage 4 cancer diagnosis after five years.
His daughter, Leah Hennessey, started a Sweet Relief fundraiser to help with his medical costs. She shared that Johansen has been in cancer treatment for most of the past decade and that in 2020, it got worse, leading to a brain tumor.
Leah wrote, per Deadline, “Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David’s cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumor. There have been complications ever since. He’s never made his diagnosis public, as he and my mother Mara are generally very private people, but we feel compelled to share this now, due to the increasingly severe financial burden our family is facing.”
Hennessey said Johansen fell the day after Thanksgiving and broke his back in two places, spending a week in the hospital. After surgery, she wrote that he is now ‘bedridden and incapacitated.’
She explained, “Due to the trauma, David’s illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock. To continue his treatment and give him the best chance of recovery, David and Mara will need full time assistance.”
“As hilarious and wise as David continues to be, he is physically debilitated and his care exceeds what we are capable of providing without specialized professional help,” Leah added.
Hennessey said Johansen hasn’t been able to work as a performer for five years. The family needs full-time nursing, physical therapy, and help with daily expenses. She shared, “My mother’s favorite acronym for God is ‘Grace Over Drama.’ Together we have endured crisis after crisis, but with the support of our community we hope to carry on laughing and loving our way through this most trying of times. Thank you for embracing our family, and for your love and generosity.”
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Johansen also said in a statement, “We’ve been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends and family, carrying on, but this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation. This is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I’ve never been one to ask for help but this is an emergency. Thank you.”
Johansen was the singer of the New York Dolls and later had a solo career. In the ’80s, he performed as Buster Poindexter. The New York Dolls reunited in 2004, toured, and released three albums before ending in 2011. After guitarist Sylvain Sylvain died in 2021, Johansen became the last original member.
