David Johansen Has Stage 4 Cancer and Brain Tumor

David Johansen’s daughter is sharing a health update on the New York Dolls singer.

“David is a legend but he’s also my very real very sick dad,” Leah Hennessey wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday, February 10. “I have so much to say but I guess I’ll be posting about this alot and I don’t have to say it all now.”

She continued, “I know how dire so many of our situations are right now, and how much fundraising literally everyone is doing but if you love David or any of the magick [sic] he’s brought into the world please just take a minute to read this or share it. Thank you guys as always.”

Alongside the message, Hennessey shared a link to a fundraiser for Johansen in partnership with the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, which provided financial assistance to those in the music industry facing health battles. In the fundraiser description, Hennessey penned a note explaining her dad’s struggle.

“As some, but not many of you know, David has been in intensive treatment for stage 4 cancer for most of the past decade,” Hennessey wrote. “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.”

Hennessey explained that Johansen fell down the stairs in November 2024 and broke his back in two places, which has made matters “worse.”

“After a week in the hospital and a successful surgery David has been bedridden and incapacitated,” she wrote. “Due to the trauma, David’s illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock.”

Hennessey noted that Johansen and Mara will need “full time assistance” to “give him the best chance of recovery.”

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“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,” she wrote, adding that the family’s 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.”

Hennessey concluded her message, “Together we have endured crisis after crisis, but with the support of our community we hope to carry on laughing and loving our way through this most trying of times. Thank you for embracing our family, and for your love and generosity.”

Johansen made a separate statement to Rolling Stone, published on Monday, explaining his current condition.

“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,” he said. “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.”