The Alarm's Mike Peters Needs a Stem Cell Transplant. But First, He Must Find a Donor (Exclusive)

It was April of 2022, and Mike Peters thought he was going to die.

"I was on a ward where there were people dying around me,” recalls Peters, 65, in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE. “I was clinging on. I could see the doctors were worrying about things that they couldn't or didn't want to tell me about."

Certainly, the lead singer of the internationally acclaimed rock band The Alarm had already been through much in his life, having been first diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) back in 1995. But as Peters found himself touring the UK with The Alarm as part of their 40th anniversary tour, he noticed changes in his health that concerned him greatly.

"All day I was coughing, and I was sweating and then there was the night sweats," remembers Peters. "It was out of control. I knew when I got to the end of the tour, I had to be seen."

And when Peters was seen, he received quite a scary diagnosis. "I was diagnosed with pneumonia, and for a leukemia survivor, pneumonia is the worst thing that can happen," Peters explains. "It became very scary. The pneumonia wasn't going away, and then my lungs filled with blood. The leukemia went out of control, and I was also diagnosed with [chronic lung disease] bronchiectasis. I had to hang on so I could simply stay alive.”

Luckily, Peters did hang on and he did stay alive, and he proceeded to infuse the intense emotions of his various health scares into the hope now found on The Alarm’s album Forwards, including the powerful song “Transition,” whose music video premieres exclusively on PEOPLE.

But then, in April of 2024 and on the eve of a 50-date U.S. tour with The Alarm, Peters felt a lump in his neck. A biopsy of the lump showed that Peters had developed Richter’s syndrome, causing his CLL to "transform" into an aggressive fast-growing lymphoma.

"My glands were the size of tennis balls, and I looked like the Elephant Man,” explains Peters, whose condition obviously forced the cancellation of The Alarm’s U.S. tour. "At one point, I had to think to myself, this could be it. I had to face it up to that because I had to find the strength to accept it and acknowledge it and realize it was potentially a real outcome. And then, I had to figure out how I was going to cope with it?"

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He did cope with it with the help of his loving family, including his wife Jules, who had also been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. But while his wife is now in remission, Peters finds himself in yet another precarious position when it comes to his health.

"I may be living with a rare and aggressive lymphoma, and need a stem cell transplant, but I know I’m lucky," says Peters, who continues to receive chemotherapy while working with his doctors regarding the next steps of his still-harrowing health journey. "I have my beautiful family, I live in an incredible part of the world, I have my music and all that comes with it."

And in many ways, Peters says his ultimate prognosis remains firmly in his hands as he continues to do everything in his power to stay as healthy as he possibly can. "I know that having a good healthy body and good healthy mind is an important weapon when you're trying to face down the kind of diseases that I have had to face," he says.

And while Peters instinctively knows that his time on Earth is limited, he also knows that he has the chance to do something miraculous in the time he has left.

"I’m exceptionally lucky because I’m able to access the very best medical treatment and care and because it looks highly likely that a matching stem cell donor will be found for me," he tells PEOPLE. "Only 30% of people will have a matching stem cell donor within their own family, which means the vast majority of people will need an unrelated stem cell donor. A complete stranger will likely provide a potentially life-saving stem cell donation for me. My donor will be my one in a million, my chance of survival."

Through the Love Hope Strength foundation, Peters and his wife Jules are working to spread the word about the “One in a Million” campaign, in the hopes of registering more people to become blood stem donors. For more information and to register yourself to help, check out www.lovehopestrength.org.

Peters adds, "Currently, only 60% of patients will find a matching stem cell donor, making the need for new donors critical. Think about your one in a million. Your partner, child, parent, or your best friend. Imagine if they need a stem cell donation. Get on the list to potentially save a life now."

Read the original article on People