Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell Says His ‘Cancer Has Returned’ but Vows He’s ‘Certainly Not Slowing Down’

Cara Lynn ShultzThu, August 20, 2026 at 8:40 PM UTC

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Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell (left) in 1983; (right) in 2024Credit: Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty; Denise Truscello/WireImage -

Vivian Campbell revealed his Hodgkin lymphoma has returned after a donor stem cell transplant failed to keep it in remission

The guitarist, 63, says he plans to continue treatments and may need another donor transplant in the future

Despite his diagnosis, Campbell remains active with Def Leppard’s tours and credits work with helping him stay positive

Def Leppard‘s Vivian Campbell says his “cancer has returned” after being declared in remission last year, following a struggle with Hodgkin lymphoma that has spanned more than a decade.

“There’s only been one time that I felt it was going to kill me, in the winter of 2023. I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening. And I realized at that point that I had to do a donor transplant. It was my only hope to survive,” the guitarist, 63, told Radio YSKL‘s Francisco Sigüenza on Wednesday, Aug. 12.

Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, the American Cancer Society (ACS) explains. An outside donor is only considered when a transplant of the patient’s own stem cells doesn’t work, per the ACS.

Vivian Campbell performs with Def Leppard in Las Vegas in 2026Credit: Denise Truscello/Getty

For Campbell, the donor transplant came after his own stem cells failed to keep the cancer at bay.

But as the “Pour Some Sugar on Me” hitmaker shared, “Unfortunately, it didn’t stick. So, the cancer has returned.”

The plan, Campbell explained, is “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.”

But he shared, “in the meantime, I’m certainly not slowing down.”

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That’s seemingly for sure. Def Leppard wrapped a residency in Las Vegas earlier this year, and is touring Mexico and South America this fall.

But Campbell said he likes the demands of his job. “I think you have to keep moving forward and I do think that that’s what helped me, even when I was at at a really low ebb with cancer treatment,” he explained. “The fact that I could still continue to work, that gives me something to live for — something that that you enjoy, that you’re passionate about, that you can wake up in the morning and look forward to.”

Vivian Campbell at Def Leppard’s Walk Of Fame ceremony in Hollywood in 2025Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

“That deflects from focusing too much on cancer,” Campbell said, sharing he’s met others with cancer who he says think, “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 going to continue to live my life as much as possible,” he shared. “Even more so after getting a cancer diagnosis, it amplifies that desire to to tick all the boxes, to do the things you want to do.”

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“I encourage everyone to look after their own health,” he said, adding if someone does receive a cancer diagnosis, he encourages them to “overcome the fear. Fear is inevitable when you’re first told those words but but once you get over that, you got to realize just how to manage it and how to deal with it as best as possible.”

Campbell added, “Just don’t give in.”

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”