If things had been different, Jesse King likely would have been dancing this weekend beside Michael Wang at THON, Pennsylvania State University’s annual 46-hour dance marathon to raise money for pediatric cancer research and support. Wang, of Hatfield, and King, of Mechanicsburg, had been friends and members of Club Volleyball’s THON team since they started at Penn State as freshmen nearly four years ago. As a sophomore, King was the team’s THON captain. The two were supposed to be roommates junior year. But then, in a tragic twist of fate, King was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and nearly died from a procedure when a mass in his lung was discovered. He went into cardiac arrest and was deprived of oxygen for a period of minutes. He spent five months in the hospital, learning to eat, walk and talk again. Though cancer-free now, he’s still recovering. Photos for Philadelphia Inquirer | Words by Susan Snyder inquirer.com/news/penn-state-thon-dance-marathon-cancer-2...