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On June 11th, Vivian<\/strong> Campbell<\/strong> had a chat with SiriusXM<\/em>‘s Eddie<\/strong> Trunk<\/strong><\/a> regarding Def<\/strong> Leppard<\/strong>‘s recent activities, their journey to get to this point, as well as Campbell<\/strong>‘s own personal life and his health. <\/p>\n Campbell<\/a><\/strong> has had a well-documented, and long, battle with cancer. <\/p>\n He was first diagnosed in 2013 with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cancer of the white blood cells, which can be quite aggressive, but also very treatable. Campbell<\/strong> explained to Trunk<\/strong> that despite the fact that his lymphoma had been caught and diagnosed early, it was difficult to get people to pay attention in the beginning. <\/p>\n “So many people, unfortunately, don’t get diagnosed until they’re stage four or something. I was very, very fortunate that I knew something was going on with me and I kept at my doctors. I said, ‘Look, something’s going on here. You gotta give me an X-ray. You’ve gotta give me a CAT scan. You’ve gotta figure this out.’ And when they eventually did, about a year and a half after I’d begun to pester them\u2026. It was a solid 18 months before they actually put me in touch with the right people and I got my diagnosis. So I was fortunate that I caught it early. And I do strongly advocate for people to be advocates for their own health,” Campbell<\/strong> described (transcribed via Blabbermouth<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n And once Campbell<\/strong> had been diagnosed, over the course of 13 years, he underwent three rounds of chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and spinal surgery before he was declared cancer-free, “[I went] through the mill with all sorts of chemo and immunotherapy and combination therapies, and 10 years ago I did an autologous stem cell transplant, which means using my own stem cells. That didn’t work. The cancer kept coming back\u2026. [But] I did a PET scan in the middle of April and I’m a hundred percent clean, completely in remission for the first time in 12 or 13 years. And I am obviously overjoyed. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”<\/p>\n The cure came from outside of his body despite his doctors’ best efforts to keep it internal \u2013\u00a0“it’s absolutely amazing what they can do.” <\/p>\n The doctors ended up telling Campbell<\/strong> that his “only chance of a cure was to do a donor transplant. And that’s exactly what I did. Starting last summer, during our tour, I started doing more chemo in preparation for it. And then right after the tour, they started giving me very hardcore chemo leading up to the transplant. I was supposed to start after Thanksgiving, and I lost my donor 10 days beforehand. So that was a kick in the nuts. But I was very fortunate that they found me another one in December. And on New Year’s Eve, I went into hospital.”<\/p>\n Campbell<\/strong> elaborated how difficult it is to find a donor in the first place because not only does a donor need to match 10 genetic markers to a certain degree, but they also must undergo a course of medications in preparation for their own invasive surgery. <\/p>\n Familial donors often will donate actual bone marrow, according to Campbell<\/strong>, but for strangers, doctors will often “use enriched stem cell blood.” And to have enriched stem cell blood, a medication is taken that “generates your stem cell growth in the bone marrow itself. And it causes a lot of discomfort and bone pain.”<\/p>\n Campbell<\/strong> explained that’s all he really knows about his donor, besides his age: “I don’t get to know who he is for a couple years, but a 21-year-old man,” who matched the genetic markers with a “10 out of 10.” The complete stranger donated his bone marrow, and now Def Leppard<\/a><\/strong>‘s Vivian<\/strong> Campbell<\/strong> is cancer free.<\/p>\n If you’re looking for a sign to help others, check out how you can sign up to be a living donor here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Enter your information below to get a daily update with all of our headlines and receive The Orchard Metal newsletter.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\t\tWant More Metal? Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n