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.
Produced by Q'd Up, a podcast and video production company in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. qd-up.com
"The Next Finish Line" — Hodgkin's Lymphoma at 14, and the All-Clear That Never Came
When Vivienne Connor was fourteen, she found a lump under her arm and told her mom she didn't think it was anything. By that fall she had a diagnosis: Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
She did everything a cancer story is supposed to do. Three rounds of chemotherapy through the winter. A clear PET scan on March 7th. A bell on the wall of the oncology floor, her mom in the room and her dad on FaceTime. From the outside, it looked exactly like an ending.
Eighteen months later, a routine checkup turned into nine months of surgeries, mixed pathology results, and a specialist consult — and it never resolved into a clear answer. There was no second bell. Vivienne was told to watch her own body for anything that shouldn't be there and, in her words, to "figure it out for myself."
In this episode of Life on Pause, Vivienne shares what survivorship actually looks like when nobody hands you an ending — and what she built instead. A business fraternity at Penn State that adopted her before they ever met her. A THON shirt she designed as a high school senior, built from her family's road trips and a camera roll full of sunsets. And a marathon in April where the last six miles taught her something her medical record never could.
This episode is part of our Childhood Cancer Awareness Month coverage. It is also a companion to "Put It In The Freezer," our fertility preservation episode with Vivienne and her mom Meg.
Life on Pause is produced by Penn State Health and supported by Four Diamonds. New episodes monthly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Watch the full episode on YouTube (https://youtu.be/DwLwHir0BP4)
Penn State Health AYA Cancer Program (https://www.pennstatehealth.org/childrens/adolescent-young-adult-cancer-program)
Learn more about Four Diamonds (fourdiamonds.org)
31 Jul 2026
Dakota's Army: A Mother's Story
When Alicia Dixon's son Dakota was six, a headache and a facial droop sent them to the ER. She read his CT results off her own phone before the doctors reached the room — and knew, with her medical background, exactly what she was looking at. It was an aggressive brain cancer, and there was no time to waste.
In this episode of Life on Pause, Alicia tells Dakota's story herself — the seven-year-old "spitfire genius" he was before cancer, the eight months and three stem-cell transplants that followed, and the moment a Four Diamonds social worker told her she'd never see a bill. She shares the hardest parts too: her son telling her he was going to die before she was ready to hear it, the peace she found in his final days, and the care package he dreamed up from his hospital bed for the kids in the rooms around him — the Dakota Duffel, "and don't forget my Jesus doll."
Dakota died on May 13, 2024, at seven years old. His mom won't call it losing. The movement his wish became, Dakota's Army, is now tens of thousands strong — and still sending duffels to families across the country.
We're sharing this episode for National Bereaved Parents Month. It touches on the death of a child; please listen with care. And know that Alicia shared all of it so another family might feel a little less alone.
Life on Pause is produced by Penn State Health and supported by Four Diamonds — which covers 100% of childhood cancer care costs insurance doesn't, so eligible families never receive a bill. New episodes monthly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Watch the full episode on YouTube
Follow Dakota's Army on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/3521373498078470/)
Learn more about Four Diamonds (https://www.fourdiamonds.org/)
21 Jul 2026
"Put It In The Freezer" — Fertility Preservation, Cancer at 14, and What Comes Next
When Vivienne Connor was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma at fourteen years old, her family faced two conversations almost simultaneously — one about cancer treatment, and one about her future fertility. The decision had to happen fast, before chemotherapy could begin.
In this episode of Life on Pause, Vivienne and her mom Meg share what it was like to navigate fertility preservation during one of the most overwhelming moments of their lives — including Christmas Day appointments, daily hormone injections before school, and a fourteen-year-old watching her own egg retrieval on a projection screen in real time. Dr. Yifei Liu, IVF Lab Director at Penn State Health, walks us through what actually happens in the lab, what the success rates look like for young cancer patients, and why a cancer diagnosis does not mean fertility preservation is out of reach.
Four years later, Vivienne is a Penn State freshman and marathon runner. The eggs are still there. And the conversations are just beginning.
This episode is part of our National Infertility Awareness Week coverage and AYA Cancer Awareness Month — because for adolescent and young adult cancer patients, these two realities are deeply connected.
Life on Pause is produced by Penn State Health and supported by Four Diamonds. New episodes monthly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Watch the full episode on YouTube (https://youtu.be/wP3MYz9B50I)
Penn State Health Fertility Preservation Program (https://www.pennstatehealth.org/childrens/fertility-preservation-children-adolescents-young-adults)
Learn more about Four Diamonds (fourdiamonds.org)
Who has been a guest on Life on Pause
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Emma
Lucas
Ariana
Casey
Mason
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
32
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
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