New York Dolls co-founder David Johansen seeks support for cancer treatment

David Johansen, iconic frontman and sole surviving founding member of the New York Dolls, revealed that he is battling multiple health issues, including stage four cancer and a brain tumor. 

The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help with the mounting medical expenses. 

His daughter Leah Hennessey shared this information: 

Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David’s cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumor. There have been complications ever since. 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. 

To make matters worse, the day after Thanksgiving David fell down the stairs and broke his back in two places. ​

After a week in the hospital and a successful surgery David has been bedridden and incapacitated. Due to the trauma, David’s illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock. Our most immediate needs are full time nursing, physical therapy and funding for day to day vital living expenses. 

With professional specialized care, we are hopeful that David can regain some mobility and independence. 

You can read more about the crowdfunding here. 

Sweet Relief also offers a unique Johansen T-shirt, with all proceeds supporting his treatment.

Johansen, whose career includes his lounge singer persona Buster Poindexter, was the subject of Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi's documentary "Personality Crisis: One Night Only" in 2022.

 

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