Life On Pause is a podcast for and by young adults living with cancer. Each month, young adult cancer patients from Penn State Health share honestly about their cancer diagnosis, treatment and life afterwards. As cancer causes the group to reflect on issues both large and small, surprisingly relatable stories and themes emerge. From relationships to body functions, nothing is off the table.
Recent Episodes
May 26, 2026
46 Hours, No Walls: When THON 2026 Came to the Hospital
🎥 VIDEO EPISODE NOTE: This story was made for video and includes powerful visual moments from both sides of the THON 2026 Hospital-to-THON Bridge — from patient rooms at Penn State Health Children's Hospital to the floor of t...
April 21, 2026
Full Cup: How Eliot Dean Fought Leukemia Twice and Learned Not to Wait
At twenty years old, Eliot Dean was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For weeks, his world shrank to a single hospital floor he couldn't leave — a window with a good view, a lot of sunsets, and the slow, difficult ...
Feb. 3, 2026
THON 2025: Inside Penn State's 46-Hour Stand for Kids with Cancer
🎥 VIDEO EPISODE NOTE: This story was created for video and includes incredible visual moments from THON Weekend — from walking through Penn State's player cheer tunnel to experiencing the energy of 16,500 students in the Bryc...
Jan. 13, 2026
Finding Your Voice After the Bell: A PhotoVoice Journey of Young Adult Cancer Survivors
What happens when treatment ends but the journey continues? For young adult cancer survivors, the ringing of the bell marks not an ending, but the beginning of something more complex — survivorship. In this powerful episode o...
Dec. 23, 2025
Mind Over Matter: Health Maintenance After Cancer
What does health maintenance really mean when you're a young adult cancer survivor? Eliot and Hailey—both acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors—share the reality of life after treatment: checkups every six months, scho...
Dec. 11, 2025
When Heroes Meet Heroes: Life Lion's Impact on Cancer Families
When a Life Lion flight nurse saves a teenager's life, he never expects to meet him again. Ten years later, that young man returns—not as a patient, but as a father—to say thank you. Ten-year-old William, a leukemia survivor,...
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