Veterans Facing Cancer With Love And Backup

Cancer isn’t a solo fight—especially for veterans. But too many are still fighting it alone.

In this episode, Marine Corps couples Joe and Jennifer Worthy, and Casey and Ashton Kroner, share the reality behind colon cancer, testicular cancer, remission, and the grind of chemo. This is the side of cancer you don’t see—shock, denial, constant appointments, and the strain of trying not to lose your identity as husband and wife while cancer pushes you into patient and caregiver roles.

We break down veteran cancer risks—burn pits, Gulf War exposure, Camp Lejeune water, asbestos—and why one question from a doctor, “Have you ever served?”, can change everything.

If you’re a veteran or caregiver navigating this alone, this conversation offers real steps: build support, advocate for your care, and get screened early.

👉 Veteran Cancer Network: https://veterancancernetwork.org/

⏱️ Episode Breakdown

00:00 Welcome To Unarmored Talk
 01:06 Meet The Veterans And Spouses
 04:02 What Diagnosis Teaches About Support
 06:46 Caregiver Shock And Daily Logistics
 13:38 Finding Help When You Feel Alone
 19:10 Military Exposures And Service Connection
 24:54 Screening Early And Self Advocacy
 28:40 Resources Thanks And Sign Off

📢 Call to Action (Optional but Recommended)

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a veteran or caregiver who may need it. Your support helps these conversations reach those who need them most.

Transcript

Welcome To Unarmored Talk

Mario P. Fields 0:04

And I have wonderful, wonderful guests on the show today. But before I get to the guests, welcome to Unarmored Talk, where we remove the armor, have real conversations, and strengthen how we think and respond to life. If you're a first-time listener on the audio or viewer on YouTube, welcome. And if you have been supporting me since 2020, I love you. I may not be able to see you, but uh I'm being honest. I love the hell out of you. And again, you guys know this show is for charity, so thank you so much for supporting um the show and making an impact over the world through Steel Serving Incorporated. So let's get to it. Everyone, we have Jennifer and Joe Worthy. Joseph, but I'll call you Joe. Sounds like a parent. So Joe Worthy and Casey and Ashton here today. Uh first, uh, let's go with uh Joe and uh Jennifer. Please tell the audience a little bit about yourselves.

Joe 1:06

Well, um, my name is Joe. I uh am old. Um I uh served in the Marine Corps from 1989 to 1998. Um got out as an E5, um, met my wife uh at my last duty station. Um we've uh transitioned all over this uh United States back and forth. Um we've settled here in Arizona, um where I'm now a small business owner and uh currently uh battling cancer.

Jenn 1:40

And I'm Jen, the wife of uh going on 29 years now, and uh really happy to be here on the podcast today.

Mario P. Fields 1:49

First of all, congratulations. My wife and I just went over 31 years, but uh that that is uh not an easy thing to do for 29 years, so uh I salute salute you. And now over to to Casey and Ashton.

Casey 2:04

Uh yeah, my name's Casey Croner. Uh I served in the Marine Corps from 2006 to 2010 as a uh satellite operator in Eighthcom in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Um after the service, uh I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and I am currently celebrating my fourth year of remission, hopefully hitting the uh the fifth year, which that's the they say you're cured at that point. And while I was in the Marine Corps, I met my lovely wife of going on 16 years, Ashton.

Ashton 2:35

Yes, and I'm Ashton Croner. I uh served from 2007 to 2015 in the Marine Corps. I was a radio operator, I served on Team Lion S and a uh recruiter for my last three years, and uh he keeps me in line, I keep him in line, but uh we're all about the Veteran Cancer Network. We are advocates on on helping early cancer prevention.

Mario P. Fields 2:56

Well, thanks for you what you guys are doing and and Joe. Uh I I was uh actively listening to you, and Joe said I'm you're seasoned, Joe. You're seasoned. And then Casey and Ashton, you know, again, what an amazing couple tour, you you know, the the the tours that you guys have done on active duty, and then uh Ashton, uh, you know, I will be fright uh quite frankly honest. Recruiting is the toughest. Uh I am a prior DI, and I'm not gonna lie to the audience, I'm unarmored, right? I literally chose DI because I said that's the second hardest.

Ashton 3:38

No lie. It was uh I I compare every crap job I've ever had in my entire life to recruiting, and uh recruiting will always take the you know the cake on that one, but it taught me so much. I I don't think I would be the person without it, uh, you know, having gone through that.

What Diagnosis Teaches About Support

Mario P. Fields 3:53

Yeah, and congratulations, Casey, as well in the 16 years of matrimony. That that is not easy. And and and so let's get right to it. I mean, you guys are veterans, you've served in the military. Um, you went to you were enslaved. I'm sorry, went to boot camp. But now you you have cancer in different forms. You're remissioned, you know, Joe, you're still in the fight. And and Casey, you're still in the fight. Uh and what you're doing for the Veterans Cancer Network is amazing. Can can you guys talk to us, the audience, a little bit about what have you learned since the diagnosis?

Casey 4:33

Uh I I would say the the major takeaway in the diagnosis is having a support system. That was the biggest one. And that's what we're hearing from other veterans or around the nation that reach out to us that just talk tell their story, is that either uh the cancer separate the couple or they had no one to begin with. And that that having a a group or peer support or uh a family relative, some kind of support system is key to surviving cancer. They, in my opinion, that is.

Joe 5:06

Yeah, I it uh it puts a lot of things into into perspective. Um, the support, I didn't realize I needed as much support as I actually did. Um just this is my second go-around with with chemotherapy. Um I was originally diagnosed in 2022 um stage three uh colon cancer, had surgery, it was gone. My chemo was preventative, um, is what I told my oncologist. He disagreed. Um we went away what we thought had gone away um and it came back. The first round I needed support, I needed help. This time it's it's been a lot, it's been a lot tougher. Um and you know, you don't realize exactly how much help you really need. Um, especially, you know, I I've I've always been very, very independent. Marine Corps taught me how to be independent. Um but the support is absolutely necessary, and it just puts a lot of things in perspective about your life.

Caregiver Shock And Daily Logistics

Mario P. Fields 6:14

Yeah, you know, and Casey, you you mentioned um how the diagnosis could separate or bring couples together, and and then Joe, you mentioned uh about well many things, but the thing is is understanding you can't do this alone. So Ashton, what challenges or what did you experience as soon as you saw Casey get this diagnosis?

Ashton 6:47

I think the first thing was shock, you know, because he was 34 at the time, you know, we have a you know young family. And so for us it was like, whoa, like he had no, he didn't smoke, you know, he drinks responsibly, eats healthy. I mean, heck, he's at the time we owned our own landscaping company, so it's not like he wasn't physically fit. Um, but you know, this kind of this diagnosis came out of nowhere. So for me, the initial thing was was shocked and then I immediately went into, okay, what can I do? You know, I wanted to be able to try to fix something, you know, because I know that he was about to have to fight for his life. So I started doing all the research. I was, you know, talking to uh, you know, anybody and everybody, you know, to try to figure out what was going, you know, basically what we were gonna be, you know, going through over the next uh, you know, next, you know, couple of weeks and few months and everything. And so I kind of went into panic mode a little bit with him, um, you know, because he was like just I'm gonna go with the flow. I'm gonna, you know, the doctors are gonna tell me what to do. I'm gonna sit in the chair, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna do all the things. But me, I'm like trying to figure out, okay, nutrition, you know, making sure that, you know, what's gonna happen with our children, our animals, you know, like life still has to go on. And so it was definitely a panic mode for me. But um, you know, going back to that word community, that was huge, you know, for us. You know, we started reaching out, you know, to people that we hadn't talked to that wanted to be able to help. We just, I had no idea on what to even ask for because I didn't even know what I needed to do, um, you know, at that time.

Mario P. Fields 8:05

Yeah. And I and I love how you allowed that emotion of shock to to, hey, let's process this and to be able to go, I don't even know what I need. I don't even know what he needs. And of course, Casey's like, yeah, I've been in worse.

Casey 8:21

Well, well, sometimes just like you know, your your religious beliefs, sometimes you just gotta just take it. Whatever the doctor kind of says, you know, you you take it in, try to process it, and just hey, trust that they might have a plan that you don't at that point.

Joe 8:37

Yeah, yeah, I think I'm actually experiencing that right now. Jen and I have very different approaches to this. For me, it's I show up to the doctor, tell her what's going on for the day, and I just go and sit in the chair. And it's just it's just a day, but not for Jen. As she sits in the chair next to me, and then there's planning, or we're looking at the next thing that we're gonna do. And I I just I gotta take it next the next minute, beyond minute. It I got I'm I'm living for right now. Jen's the Jen's the planner in this.

Mario P. Fields 9:08

And you know, and that's that was gonna be my next question, Joe. Is for Jen, you you know, this is the second time and it's different. And what are what have been some of the challenges, Dylan, you know, for you as a caretaker supporting Joe?

Jenn 9:24

I think just uh coming to terms really with what it means. Um, I still think, you know, we so we found out about this diagnosis uh on like January 2nd, great way to start the new year that had a lot of plans already. And, you know, our goals for our small business were set. And I still am battling with a little bit of denial myself. My husband on the outside looks very healthy. He's trying every single day, he's getting up, but then the chemo weeks come and they're coming faster and they're getting harder. And I want to protect everybody's emotions in our family, our kids and my parents and everybody that really loves us. And so I'm I'm honestly just exhausted every day. I don't sometimes know how I get through it. I probably have a headache every single day, but the amount of care coordination that goes into taking care of him, I almost am scared about what happens when he starts to deteriorate or the next round is even harder, or surgery, if if that's an option for him, what is recovery going to look like? So carrying a lot of baggage, and um, you know, I too am trying to live like for the minute because you still want to remember you're a married couple first. Like this is, I'm still a wife. I'm not a caregiver, I'm his wife first, and trying to love each other as spouses and putting that as the primary focus, it does get harder.

Mario P. Fields 11:00

Yeah, and it's so complex. I mean, listen to you guys, you know, like it's so good plus you have you have the person that's dealing with it and your mindset and your look on life, your change in the way you look at life, and then you have the caretaker on the outside that's managing the complexities of, and you mentioned it, uh Jen. There's there's mothers, fathers, grandparents, there's like there's this whole line, friends, pastors, you know, there's all these folks who care and trying to manage that, yeah, it could be super exhausting at night. Casey, so with with with the the amount of support that you have received from Ashton, um what would you say if you had to pick one thing? I know it's gonna be tough. What would you say has been the one thing for you that has really helped you from Ashton?

Casey 11:52

Hands down, I'm not the biggest person to get out there and start talking to people and preaching the the word of all this or advocating for myself as much. She is a pit bull, thank she she's the word equivalent to a DI. Like, she will go out there and she will preach to the street to get what I need, and that would be the biggest like benefit, uh, boon, whatever you want to call it for me.

Mario P. Fields 12:15

God is going, you know, God is going. There's a reason why I gave man, woman, knowledge. True, true. It's biblical, it's biblical. And then it is over to you, Joe. You know, uh, you know, you tell me what's one thing if you had to pick one. I know this is a tough question. We're sitting on a porch here when having a beverage. Um, non-alcoholic.

Joe 12:40

Honestly, I mean it's the it's the same thing that Casey just said. It's Jen is out there every day making making this stuff happen. If if she wasn't behind the scenes making sure that you know everything was getting done, I probably wouldn't even be sitting in a chemo chair. Um, I I wouldn't have I probably wouldn't have even gone to the doctor and got diagnosed again.

Mario P. Fields 13:04

Wow.

Joe 13:04

You know, she she keeps me on track, and I think that is that's the the biggest benefit that I you know and the the biggest support and the the biggest thing that I can recognize is just she's she's always there and yeah, she's always she is she is a pit bull when it comes to getting things done. Um she has fought the VA over the last uh two months, uh tooth and nail. Uh it's been quite the adventure this time. It's been harder this time than it was the first time.

Finding Help When You Feel Alone

Mario P. Fields 13:36

Wow. Wow. Now now there are some folks who are gonna watch this show um that may be battling cancer alone. Um, or I believe it could be me that we don't even know we're going to get diagnosed in the future. And we may not, or a person may not have an amazing network that's in the house with them. Any of you guys, what what advice could you give someone that may be alone with this fight?

Ashton 14:08

I mean, people may think that they're alone, you know, honestly. I mean, I thought when we were going through his chemotherapy and everything, we thought we're, oh man, it's like here we are post-9-11 veterans, you know, it's like we're the only ones going through this. And that is such a lie, you know, like there are so many people out there. But um, you know, for us, it was hard to navigate and try to figure out, you know, where we can find these like-minded people. And it was so easy now looking back at it, you know, it wasn't hard to be able to go and um, you know, go onto an online support group. You know, it took a little while for us to be able to find the one that fit our situations, you know, because we were looking for both the caregiver and the uh, you know, the person going through it. But we we created the veteran cancer network for people just like this. We wanted the resource that we wish that we had, you know, so they can come to our website, they can go to our socials, they can hear our stories and let them know that, hey, you don't have to be alone during this. Yes, it's a really crappy situation that you're going through right now, but you have a whole support of brothers and sisters that have gone through similar situations as you. And we want to be able to connect you with them, you know, because it's all about that connection and just, you know, hearing stories and, you know, sharing, like, hey, yeah, this happened to me, like Casey popping a pimple and you know, kidney sepsis and everything. Like, lesson learned, you know, what don't pop pimples, don't shake with a straight razor, you know, like those kind of things. And we try to normalize that conversation because cancer is a very scary topic. A lot of people think of the Hollywood version, you know, you're gonna go through, you know, chemotherapy is gonna be the worst thing ever. You're gonna have to sit there and be in bed, you're bedridden. I mean, they just have such a negative perception of what cancer actually is. And, you know, we want to be able to fix that. We want to make it so you can, you know, still live your, you know, live your life. Cancer doesn't have to be the entire book, it can just be a chapter in your journey, you know, and we want to be able to help, you know, shape that chapter.

Casey 15:49

Yeah, and and take Joe down there owning his own business. He's always out and about making recordings, talking about what to look for, all that. So he's he's a prime example of people still with cancer, freaking out there doing stuff. So I give it up to you, Joe. You're strong.

Jenn 16:08

And I would just add too, um, you know, the military and military life, even as a spouse, has has trained us all really well to just put your head down and pound, right? And when you get cancer, and if you are on this journey alone, you have to unlearn that skill and start speaking up. Pick up the phone and make a phone call to the VA. The very first thing, please do that. Get the process, not even so much for your disability or your compensation claim started. Yes, that is important. But the other piece to that is that the VA actually has a lot of really good programs, even for caregivers. I mean, I'm on like a Zoom every other week, just learning new skills and, you know, how not just about how to take care of him, but like stress relief. So if you are on this journey alone, it's really like what Ashton said, please know that you aren't, but put your pride aside. Pick up the phone and call somebody, tell somebody what you are going through. You can reach out to the Veteran Cancer Network. Like, I will talk to any veteran and any veteran's family that doesn't know how to navigate this system or just even needs somebody to talk to. You meet people accidentally. I met Casey and Ashton on LinkedIn one day. Like it's just, you know, and they become the most beautiful relationships on this journey that you actually have. So please, just please speak up. Don't be too proud.

Joe 17:34

More than 40,000 service members are going to be diagnosed this year with cancer. Wow. Nobody's alone. It's probably somebody that you know. I know that just in the last two months, I have had more people outside of the family like, if you need anything, just let me know. You need a ride to can uh to your chemo, let me know. And these are people that I see once a month. So the support is out there, people are there to help. Um, nobody really has to do this on their own. Um, and again, you do have to advocate for yourself, and that's usually for for service members. Sometimes that's not the easiest thing to do.

Military Exposures And Service Connection

Mario P. Fields 18:19

Yeah, no, what wonderful um tips. And and I love how you guys essentially said that you know what we're not gonna try to solve this on our own, we're gonna leverage resources, and there's so much we don't know, and then the the the relationships, let's let's build this network of folks who are going through something similar, and we can share experiences that are not in a book. You know, you can't go to the University of X and get this information. You guys are living it, and and then and then the the estimate of 40,000 uh veterans uh that will potentially get diagnosed with cancer is just uh just wow, just devastating to me. But uh, like you said, we can't stop that, but we can help help each other and prevent it, which goes into my last point of prevention or the uh lack thereof. Do any of you believe that your military service you know uh could have contributed to these diagnoses?

Joe 19:20

Mine is service connected. So in 1991, on January 15th, I entered the Straits of Hormuz into the Gulf War. Um we made landfall, I believe, in February-ish, and then we were sitting under the oil fields when Saddam Hussein had bombed them to you know limit the the desire for oil. We sat under those oil fields for days, just covered in oil, smoke. At two o'clock in the afternoon, it looked like it was two in the morning. Then exposures on ship, exposures, exposures in these old Kwansen huts that I was in. Mine was service connected. Um that's that has been a huge help just from the standpoint of getting assistance through the VA. But we know we know that mine was service connected. It did. And what's crazy is that even if you weren't in a combat zone, you still run a risk. I mean, we look at Camp Lejeune for was it 20 years, 30 years? If you were on Camp Lejeune, you were exposed to toxic water. You don't even have to go into a combat zone. We're, you know, as service members, we're put in positions where we're going to be exposed to things that we really shouldn't have. You know, I we destroyed uh devices and documents and all kinds of stuff through just burning them. And we're on working parties to go burn them. So we're standing right in the middle of it. Um we're we're put in harm's way. The those 40,000 plus that might get diagnosed with cancer this year, chances are it they were it was something that had to do with the military and positions we were put in. You know, it's we we try and destroy things expediently. We try, we well, the military puts money in different places. The Quanton huts that we were in when I was at the School of Infantry um for our training uh uh uh training battalion, those have been around since I think the 50s. Um, you know there's asbestos in those. Absolutely. They don't upgrade those. Um so you know, we're yeah, that it is service connected. Um a lot of those are going to be service connected.

Casey 21:51

Yeah, I'll piggyback off Joe. Joe, you you said all the all the stuff there, you know. I'm not gonna reiterate that. Uh I will say that my the VA. Said mine was service connected. I dealt with uh burn pits uh at the back of Alessad on the air uh air station there. Uh I was working in satellite, so I had microwave stuff, point-to-points, and even though it's you know two dishes talking to each other, it does have spill-off. You know, it's it's not like a straight, straight beam. Uh, so they said that uh I probably got microwaved a couple times uh with some of these things that you can hold a bag of popcorn in front of it and it will pop the popcorn and then it radiates the ground or it, you know, it does stuff to the ground. So if you have to, you know, shut the system down and still go and clean trash or debris in front of it, you're still getting hit with it. So they know for a fact that uh, or I know for a fact that they say it's it's definitely from my uh my uh what is it, MOS, you know, hazards. So uh any young vets or Marines out there, take it serious, get your stuff fixed or you know, looked at, fixed, uh, whatever you need medically wise, go get it.

Ashton 22:58

Yeah, and I'll and I'll also mention that as well. That's one of the things that we're really advocating for at the Veteran Cancer Network. You know, you already go to the doctor and they ask, you know, do you feel safe in your home? You know, do you have food? You know, they're already asking some of those questions. Um, but only 9 million veterans are utilizing the VA healthcare system, you know, out of the, you know, what is almost 20 million million get out each year. Um so that means the rest of them are seeing civilian healthcare providers. And, you know, I have never been asked, have you ever served in the military? And there is so much information that can be had from that, you know, talking about your exposure history, you know, what your job was, like Casey mentioned. Um, all these risk factors come into play. And I know that both, you know, Joe, Jen, and Casey have heard me talk about this multiple times. But, you know, when you're going through training, you know, like the gas chamber, OC spray, you know, those things, like your body actively rejects that. But there's not studies being done on the effects of the gas chamber long term. Um, I'm a strong believer that, you know, that can contribute to a lot of these healthcare concerns that, you know, potentially could lead to cancer if it was just studied. So there is so many factors whenever it comes to your military exposure history, along with even prior to that, a lot of people that joined the military, you know, they're they're leaving their homes for reasons. I mean, you get some that, you know, want to join because of a patriotic or family. But um I know when I was on the streets on recruiting duty, a lot of them were low income, you know, that were coming into the service to better their, you know, their future. Um, and so they already had those social concerns already. And then you compound it with military history. People that serve in the military are 30% more likely to get cancer than their civilian counterparts. And right now it's one in three people in their lifetime are gonna have cancer.

Screening Early And Self Advocacy

Mario P. Fields 24:32

Wow. Those wow. Well, I I would I would love the to have you, uh Casey, you know, Ashton, Joe, and Jen on the show forever because you guys are just amazing. And I don't mind hosting for the rest of the day, but I know you guys got other things to do in life, and I don't want to be selfish. So I'll start off with uh Jen and Joe. If if there's one thing that you both as a couple individually, um one piece of advice you you could leave the listeners and viewers, what would it be today?

Joe 25:04

Get screened. Just just get screened. It doesn't matter what age you are. You know, I was fifty-two when I got diagnosed with uh stage three. I had signs and symptoms since I was probably fifty. And I'm pretty sure that if I had been screened at 45, which is what the new requirement is, um, it probably would have been discovered way, way earlier. Get screened.

Jenn 25:32

Yeah, and um as his wife, as a caregiver, I would say, uh, you know, caregivers out there maybe listening today, Mario, um, just take care of yourself. Come to terms with the fact that your life has changed. It's not the same every day. And you, the quicker you can make peace with that and you can adjust your life with how your life now fits around being a caregiver, around watching somebody that you love battle cancer. There's a lot of things you have to say no to. There's a lot of ways you need to protect your home and your energy and just take care of yourself and and please reach out to Veteran Cancer Network if I can talk to anybody about what that needs to look like for you and your health.

Casey 26:21

Yeah. Um, I guess I'll I'll go next. Uh I will piggyback off Joe because Joe and I are the same wavelengths. But uh, since mine was a sensitive topic for a male, you know, it's talking about sensitive parts. Um, and I didn't want to talk about it. So I let it just I advocated for myself to get screened and stuff, but uh I kind of didn't push as much as I should. So if I got it screened a lot sooner, it would have been a far less invasive uh procedure to get myself, you know, to a a good stable spot. So getting that early uh early detection, uh screening, testing, advocate for yourself, those are very important. And everyone should be doing that as soon as you get out. As soon as first year when you get out, just go ahead and uh push for like any kind of uh testing because for males, like Joe said, 45 is is the standard practice to start, they need to be starting in their 20s, early 20s, if they can. That that's the advice I would give. Especially if there's a history in your family. Yep.

Ashton 27:28

Yep. I think advocating for yourself and and for your loved one is also important. You know, when Casey was going into the ICU, his blood pressure had dropped, and you know, a doctor was prescribing medication, and and I was, you know, I was on Dr. Google, I was sitting there looking at all the information that was being presented, and I saw that one of the, you know, one of the effects of this particular medication would cause low blood pressure. And of course I brought it up and you know, thinking that the doctor already knew this and they kind of brushed me off. Oh, it's fine, don't worry about it. Guess what? His blood pressure dropped again into the 40s, you know. So I think advocating and questioning, you know, doctors, they they they have a wealth of knowledge, but they don't know everything. You know, you yourself know your body the best. So you have to advocate. When Casey was going through his diagnosis, he had to be able to sit there and really advocate saying, hey, no, something feels wrong. And, you know, so many of us, especially in the veteran population, you know, we look at doctors as, you know, positions of authority and that they know everything. So we tend not to, you know, question those, you know, those results that we're getting. But, you know, that's wrong. You know your body. You know your, you know, you only get one life to be able to live, and you to be able to sit there and be here for as long as you can and by doing, you know, advocating for yourself and others is so important.

Resources Thanks And Sign Off

Mario P. Fields 28:37

You guys are awesome. And thank you. That's my belief. And so thank you so much from the worthies and Connors for coming on the show and sharing amazing advice. Everyone, if you haven't uh visited uh the Veteran Cancer Network, please visit it. Uh, if you know, if you have someone in your network that may be dealing with cancer, please get that resource to them. But other than that, you guys are awesome. Please, I will continue to keep you, you both families in my prayer, and um and and you guys have a wonderful day.

Jenn 29:07

Thanks, Maria.

Mario P. Fields 29:08

Thank you so much for everyone. Until next episode, thank you for your continued support. Stay unarmored, stay authentic, and stay mentally fit. God bless you all.