Professional fencer Monica Aksamit won a bronze medal in the team division at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janerio and is a repeat Team USA member. Apart from her fencing career, she is a podcast host, Penn State alumna, and staunch supporter of THON.

Her podcast, “On the Fence with Monica Aksamit,” discusses everything from what it’s like in the Olympic Village to injuries to dating horror stories. This week’s episode features former Penn State football defensive tackle Devon Still.

The pair talk about their personal experiences with cancer and the struggles that their families endured because of it. Aksamit pledged to donate 100% of this week’s podcast earnings to THON and encouraged all viewers to share this episode with as many people as possible.

“In my podcast, I like to be real and authentic and tell stories that are close to my heart,” Aksamit said. “Cancer is something my family has dealt with throughout the years, and I knew my experience with THON could be a great tie-in to relate this story. Reaching out to Devon and helping him tell the story of how people get hit with cancer would make an impact. I wanted to make a personal impact by raising money for THON.”

Aksamit is dedicated to using her platform for good. In a previous podcast episode, she told the story about rescuing her dog and helped raise money for dog shelters. Additionally, she raised money for Planned Parenthood through TikTok and has been vocal about how donations helped get her to the Olympics.

“THON is the world’s largest student-run philanthropy. As an alumni, I always want to help out my school,” Aksamit said. “I feel like spreading the word about a 30 minute-podcast, where all you have to do is listen, is an easy way where everyone (even people struggling with funds) can make a difference.

“Each listen will donate money to THON,” Aksamit continued. “I get money from ads when people listen, so it costs people absolutely nothing to play the episode and share it with people they know. Regardless of what we are able to raise, it still helps those in need.”

In this week’s episode, Still talks about his injuries from college football and the NFL and how they taught him about adversity and perseverance. When Still was going into his junior year at Penn State, his daughter Leah was born which forced him to get organized and focus on his priorities.

Still was drafted 53rd overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. Two years later, when Leah was four years old, she was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma and given a 50% chance of survival.

“For five days straight, she had to be locked in this metal room that was covered in plastic by herself as she got the radiation,” Still said in the podcast. “As a parent, you’re not allowed in the room. You can’t hug them or touch them for five days straight.”

Leah’s cancer spread throughout her entire body, but Still remained positive and never gave up hope.

“I told Leah — as long as she was still alive, as long as I had breath in my body, we were going to continue to fight,” Still said.

Battling injuries, his daughter’s cancer, long distance, and playing at the highest level of football was no easy feat. At times he wanted to retire, but he needed to keep playing to pay for her medical bills and to keep the insurance that was needed for her treatment.

“There would be days where I would go out there and perform, and there would be days where I’d literally be at practice in the middle of a play and then tears would just start rolling down my eyes because I really didn’t want to be out there,” Still said. “I wanted to be in Philadelphia with Leah.”

Despite battling cancer at such a young age, Leah is now 10 years old and five years cancer-free. Still talks about the story behind his foundation, the Still Strong Foundation, and why he decided to pay for the household bills for families battling cancer.

Additionally, Aksamit shares the story of when she was 15 years old and her mom received the call that she had breast cancer. Years later, her grandmother was also diagnosed with cancer but fortunately battled through.

In the podcast, Aksamit and Still share memories about their experiences with THON when they were student-athletes. Not only did they perform on stage to pump up the dancers, but they wanted to inspire the families battling cancer.

Aksamit was involved with the Student-Athlete Advisory Board and participated in THON fundraisers, including the athlete pageant. Additionally, she participated in Athlete Hour at the Bryce Jordan Center, taught the kids fencing basics, and played games with them. Aksamit was a member of the THON org OHANA for two years during her time at Penn State.

Two years ago at the Hope Gala is when the importance of THON really hit Aksamit. She met a teenage boy who had battled cancer three times by the time he was 17 years old. The story broke her heart and inspired her to help in the fight against pediatric cancer however she could.

“Now more than ever, people are at risk to contract COVID-19, especially people with cancer,” Aksamit said. “During the past year, 22 million people lost their jobs. This includes insurance too. Parents and children are in need of help to cover the cost of cancer.

“We all need to help each other out this year to rebuild and motivate each other. Simple things to help like sharing a meal, donating where you can, or even better, listening to a free podcast that will help impact lives are things that we can all do together to help make the world a better place.”