Cancer has reared its ugly head again for the lead guitarist of Def Leppard, the chart-topping rock band responsible for 80s and 90s hits like “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and considered pioneers of music video storytelling on MTV.
Vivian (Viv) Campbell, 63, opened up about his health news in an August 2026 interview with El Salvador radio station YSKL FM. After a failed stem cell transplant, Campbell revealed that the cancer has returned, but refuses to give up the fight.
Def Leppard’s Viv Campbell Has Fought His Cancer Since 2013
Campbell was first diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2013, according to People, which he discovered after developing a cough that wouldn’t go away. On an episode of the “Lymphoma Voices” podcast in 2023, Campbell said his cancer had come back multiple times since, comparing it to the game “Whac-a-Mole.”
Hodkin Lymphoma is a type of cancer that impacts the lymphatic system, according to the Mayo Clinic, that “starts in germ-fighting white blood cells called B lymphocytes.” Treatments can include chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and a bone marrow stem cell transplant.
After 13 years of successfully going in and out of treatment, Campbell told YSKL’s Francisco Sigüenza on August 12, “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.”
According to the American Cancer Society, doctors resort to relying on an outside donor when a patient’s own stem cells can’t or don’t work in a transplant. Campbell underwent a donor transplant, but told YSKL, “Unfortunately, it didn’t stick. So, the cancer has returned.”
Campbell is facing the news with a positive attitude, though, telling YSKL he will continue treatments and will likely need “another transplant within a few years” from another donor. A successful transplant could potentially cure him of cancer, Campbell said.
Def Leppard is Hot Again & Viv Campbell Wants to Ride the Wave
Getty“I’m certainly not slowing down,” Campbell told YSKL, determined to move forward and enjoy Def Leppard’s rebounding popularity. The band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in October 2025, with an appearance by fellow rocker Jon Bon Jovi at the ceremony, and they wrapped up a Las Vegas residency in early 2026.
“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,” Campbell told YSKL. “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.”
When each member of Def Leppard was asked in a July Instagram video what wisdom they’ve gained after more than 40 years of touring, Campbell said, “I’ve learned to keep it light, keep it fun. If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing. No stress.”
This fall, Def Leppard will be on tour in Mexico and South America, and plans to release their 13th studio album in 2027, per People.
