Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell is sharing an update on his ongoing battle with cancer.
Campbell was diagnosed last year with Hodgkin's Lymphoma; he immediately began chemotherapy and other treatments.
“Well, I seem to be in a good spot at the moment,” he tells Eddie Trunk. “You can never be too certain with these things, 'cause they can come creeping back. But after three rounds of chemo over the last two years, I did a stem-cell transplant in October. And the first PET scan that I did on New Year's Eve came back really, really good — there's no sign of the tumors — so I'm hopeful that we're on the right path. I mean, that's certainly the way I've been thinking.”
“I'm not letting it concern me at all. But continuing for the next few years, I'll be doing more scans and follow-ups and stuff, just to make sure, but I'm certainly feeling healthy, you know?!"
The guitarist – who got married this past summer – explains how his treatment has unfolded since the cancer returned after he revealed things were in remission in November 2013.
"For anyone who knew anything about cancer, they'd probably say, 'Well, that's not unusual,'" says Campbell. “But I didn't. I got my diagnosis in the spring of 2013 when we were doing the Las Vegas residency with Def Leppard. And as soon as we were done with that, I started six months of chemo.”
“And I just kind of naturally assumed you do the chemo, you do a scan at the end of the chemo and it shows that you're good, and that's it. But apparently not. It was, like, ninety-something percent gone, and it was what they couldn't see on the scan that came creeping back. And it came back so fast.”
“That's why the doctors advised me to do the stem-cell transplant — to try and kill it at the microbiological level,” he continues. “So it's pretty much rocket-science stuff; I mean, it's amazing technology. I personally feel pretty good about this right now. I feel that it's gone. But, like I said, you never really know, and you've gotta keep your eye on it. If it's gonna come back, it's gonna come back in the next couple of years. But hopefully not, you know?!"
Def Leppard are currently in the studio working on a new album; the band return to the road for a spring Canadian tour and an early summer run through Europe.
See also:
Def Leppard singer shares new album update
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Def Leppard announce Canadian tour
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