New York Dolls frontman David Johansen has thanked fans for their fundraising support after he revealed his stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
On Monday (February 10), the punk icon’s daughter Leah Hennessey launched the appeal to help pay for his treatment and care, disclosing that her father had been receiving cancer treatment for “most of the last decade”.
The page, hosted by the Sweet Relief Musicians’ Fund, indicates that Johansen was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2020, and explains that his condition was further complicated in November when he fell down the stairs and broke his back in two places. Visit the fundraiser here.
Now, the musician and his wife Mara have posted a video updating fans on his condition and thanking them for their generosity in contributing to the fundraiser.
Lying in a hospital bed, Johansen says in the video: “Hello everybody. I just wanted to thank you all for giving us a big boost here with our fundraising campaign, I guess you would call it.
“I’ve never asked for help in my life and lately Mara’s been teaching me the beauty of, when your chips are down, asking for help,” he continues. “That’s what I’m doing, and it seems to be working out really marvellously.”
Hennessey’s description on the fundraiser reads: “He’s never made his diagnosis public, as he and my mother Mara are generally very private people, but we feel compelled to share this now, due to the increasingly severe financial burden our family is facing.”
“As hilarious and wise as David continues to be, he is physically debilitated and his care exceeds what we are capable of providing without specialized professional help.”
In a statement shared by Brooklyn Vegan earlier this week, Johansen said: “We’ve been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends and family, carrying on, but this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation.
“This is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I’ve never been one to ask for help, but this is an emergency. Thank you.”
The New York Dolls are considered one of the most influential proto-punk bands of the early and mid 1970s and released two studio albums – ‘New York Dolls’ (1973) and ‘Too Much Too Soon’ (1974) – before splitting in 1976.
