Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has revealed that his Hodgkin lymphoma has returned after a donor stem cell transplant previously brought him into complete remission.
Campbell, 63, shared the health update while speaking with Francisco Sigüenza of El Salvador’s Radio YSKL FM. The musician was first diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013 and has undergone multiple forms of treatment during the years since.
The latest development comes after Campbell announced in June 2025 that he was completely in remission for the first time since his diagnosis. A PET scan that April showed no detectable lymphoma following the donor transplant, making the recurrence a significant change from the hopeful update he shared last year.
Even so, Campbell made clear that he does not intend to step away from the things that give his life purpose. He is continuing treatment while remaining active with Def Leppard, Last In Line and interests outside music, according to PEOPLE’s report on his update.
Campbell Says His Donor Transplant ‘Didn’t Stick’
Campbell said the most frightening period of his illness came in the winter of 2023, when the disease was progressing quickly enough that he became seriously concerned about his survival. “There’s only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me,” he said in the Radio YSKL interview.
“In the winter of 2023, I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening.” By then, Campbell had already been through numerous treatments. He has previously described undergoing different forms of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant using his own cells. The cancer continued returning.
Doctors eventually recommended a transplant using donor cells as his best opportunity for a longer-lasting remission. “And I realized at that point that I had to do a donor transplant,” Campbell said. “It was my only hope to survive.”
Campbell described undergoing that procedure around the beginning of 2025. In his new interview, he said he entered the hospital on New Year’s Eve and remained there for approximately three and a half weeks. “Unfortunately, it didn’t stick,” he said in the new interview. “So the cancer has returned, and I’m continuing treatments to manage it.”
He Had Been Completely in Remission Last Year
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During a June 2025 appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk, Campbell said he had undergone a PET scan in mid-April. “I’m 100% clean, completely in remission for the first time in 12 or 13 years,” he said at the time. “And I am obviously overjoyed. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”
Getting to that point had required an especially difficult stretch of treatment. Campbell said doctors intensified his chemotherapy during and after Def Leppard’s 2024 touring schedule in preparation for the donor procedure. Then, roughly 10 days before the transplant was supposed to happen, his original donor became unavailable.
Another compatible donor was found in December 2024. Campbell later revealed that the replacement donor was a 21-year-old man who matched all 10 genetic markers doctors were considering. He said regulations prevented him from learning the donor’s identity immediately but joked that, once allowed to contact him, he intended to buy the young man “a beer or two or three.”
Another Donor Transplant May Be in His Future
Entertainment Weekly reported that he remains in treatment while continuing to work and is approaching the recurrence much as he has approached his illness throughout the past decade.“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 said.
Campbell also emphasized that, despite the setback, he still considers himself fortunate because his lymphoma was originally detected early and much of his experience has involved managing the disease rather than feeling immediately threatened by it.
Music and Rally Driving Give Campbell Something to Focus On
Campbell said remaining active has been one of the most important parts of dealing with cancer psychologically. “I think you have to keep moving forward,” he said. Even during particularly difficult periods of treatment, being able to continue working gave him “something to live for” and something enjoyable to anticipate.
He said that focus helped prevent cancer from becoming the only thing occupying his thoughts. The diagnosis has also intensified his desire to pursue interests outside music. One of those is rally driving.
Campbell said that as a child he imagined becoming a racing driver if playing guitar professionally did not work out. He has increasingly pursued that longtime ambition alongside his work with Def Leppard and Last In Line.
“I’m certainly not slowing down,” Campbell said. “I’m doing as much with my life as possible, not just with Def Leppard and again with Last In Line. I’m also rally driving.”
He Is Still Moving Forward With Def Leppard
Campbell joined Def Leppard in 1992 following the death of guitarist Steve Clark and has remained part of the band’s lineup for more than three decades.
His treatment did temporarily affect his ability to perform. Campbell missed Def Leppard’s first concert of 2025 while recovering from the transplant before returning to the stage later that year.
He has since remained active with the band. Def Leppard completed a 12-show residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in February 2026.
The group’s official schedule has another run beginning Oct. 15 in Hollywood, Florida, followed by dates in Mexico and South America with Extreme. Stops include Mexico City, San Salvador, Quito, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Santiago.