Vivian Campbell Determined to Keep Going, Despite Obstacles
Health issues haven't been the most difficult part of returning to Def Leppard for Vivian Campbell.
Instead, the cancer survivor had to deal with a travel mishap, as he tried to schedule ongoing treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma around Def Leppard's summer tour with Styx and Tesla. There apparently have even been questions about whether he should be back on the road at all.
"It's ironic that the most stressful part in all of this has not been dealing with the actual cancer or the treatment, but rather the struggle that I've had to endure with my bandmates and management in trying to convince them that this is not only logistically doable for me, but that it's a big, big part of my recovery," he writes on Facebook. "The stress that this has caused me has been immense."
Campbell ended up missing a June 27 date in Birmingham, Ala. -- something he's vowed will not happen again. "The doctors and I have scheduled the rest of my treatments through the end of the U.K. tour in December and the travel agents have done their thing to ensure that the travel fiasco will not be repeated," Campbell says. "All future travel to rejoin the tour will be on days off, thus allowing a 36-hour cushion should something go wrong."
Campbell, who took part in sessions for new albums by both Def Leppard and Last in Line, has been battling cancer for a couple of years, but emerged in January with a clean scan. He's been determined to return to his career ever since.
"Perhaps it's something that only other cancer patients can comprehend," Campbell adds. "While everyone else wrongfully assumes it's 'best for you to stay in bed and recover,' the truth is that continuing to live your life the way you want to is the best therapy. Doing so raises a big middle finger, f– you to cancer. I do not for one minute believe that this disease will kill me. However, if I happen to be wrong about that, I would much, much rather die on my feet than die on my knees."
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