‘This is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life,’ said the punk musician in a statement. New York Dolls frontman David Johansen has revealed he is living with stage 4 cancer and a brain tumor. “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 site is seeking to raise funds to pay for full-time nursing, physical therapy and day-to-day living expenses.
![[David Johansen (right) on stage with Sylvain Sylvain and Sami Yaffa of The New York Dolls at Reading Festival in 2004]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/10/19/31/GettyImages-51234208.jpg)
Hennessey writes that Johansen had previously chosen to keep his diagnosis private, but is now facing an emergency situation as his fall has left him bedridden and incapacitated. “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,” says Hennessey.
“Due to the trauma, David’s illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock. To continue his treatment and give him the best chance of recovery, David and Mara will need full time assistance. 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.”.
