This CEO was given a 5pc chance of survival. That was 21 years ago

With his wife pregnant with the couple’s third child, YHA Australia chief Paul McGrath was diagnosed with a blood cancer. The experience taught him a lot about the power of the mind.

Paul McGrath likes to get up to catch the light to help set his arcadian rhythm. Louie Douvis

Sally Patten and Lap Phan

Updated May 27, 2025 – 11.51am, first published at 5.00am

Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

When Paul McGrath’s wife was pregnant with the couple’s third child, the now chief executive of low-cost holiday accommodation provider YHA Australia received devastating news.

He was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer, and given a 5 per cent chance of survival.

Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

License article

Introducing your Newsfeed

Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.

Find out more

Sally PattenBOSS editorSally Patten edits BOSS, and writes about workplace issues. She was the financial services editor and personal finance editor of the AFR, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. She edited business news for The Times of London.