Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell Shares Positive Health Update

Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell offered a positive health update as his 12-year battle with cancer continued.

He’s currently recovering from surgery, which is why he wasn’t on stage with his bandmates at their more recent show.

Colleague Phil Collen’s guitar tech, John Zocco, took his place on Jan. 20, after frontman Joe Elliott told the crowd that Campbell was having “some treatment for his cancer.”

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“Thank you for all the recent messages and support,” Campbell wrote in a message via social media. “As you all may know, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma several years ago. I recently had a bone marrow transplant as part of my treatment plan, and it’s safe to say that thus far it’s been a very successful transplant!”

He added: “I just have to keep my head down and my spirits up for the next 100 days of primary recovery.” It was signed: “A very happy Viv!”

If his treatment remains on schedule, Campbell should be able to return to action at the end of April, in time to take part in Def Leppard’s upcoming tour, which kicks off in Puerto Rico on May 15.

Def Leppard Wanted Viv Campbell to Stop Touring, But He Refused

In 2019 the former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist said his 2013 diagnosis had resulted in him keeping busier than he’d been before. “I looked at my lifetime as being not this open-ended thing and [realized] that time is, indeed, very precious and every day should be celebrated,” he told Ultimate Guitar.

“Even at the worst of my cancer, when I was doing very hardcore chemotherapy, I still managed to go on tour with Def Leppard. And I had a hard time convincing Def Leppard – and in particular the Def Leppard management at the time – that that was the best thing for me to do.

“I think that they really wanted me to stay at home and just concentrate on my treatments. Whereas for me, I would have considered that a death sentence. You are what you do in life. I’ve always been a guitar player, I’ve always been a musician, and nothing brings me more joy.”