Veteran Cancer Talk
Veteran Cancer Talk is the official podcast of Veteran Cancer Network, sharing real conversations about cancer in the veteran community.Hosted by veterans and caregivers, the show features veteran survivors, caregivers, doctors, researchers, and advocates discussing early detection, treatment, recovery, and the unique challenges veterans face when navigating cancer.Through powerful personal stories and expert insight, Veteran Cancer Talk works to raise awareness, encourage screening, and connect veterans and their families with the resources and support they need.The mission is simple: educate, advocate, and ensure no veteran faces cancer alone.
Doctors Gave Him 3–4 Years. Five Years Later, He’s Still Here!
Marine Corps veteran Matt Howard knew something didn’t feel right, but like many veterans, he put off going to the doctor. Eventually, a trip to the ER revealed stage 4 prostate cancer that had already spread beyond his prostate.
Doctors gave Matt roughly a 30% chance of surviving three to four years.
Five years later, he’s still here.
In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton sits down with Matt to talk about his cancer diagnosis, treatment, the importance of his wife and support syst...
How Veterans Can Stay Financially Stable During Cancer Treatment
Cancer treatment can affect more than your health. It can also impact your ability to work, pay bills, and stay financially stable.
In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Casey explains how veterans with active service - connected cancer may qualify for a temporary 100% VA disability evaluation during treatment. He also discusses what may happen when treatment ends, how VA reevaluations work, and why veterans should document lasting side effects and secondary conditions as early as possible.
Topics include:
• Temporary 100% VA disability during active cancer treatment
• Preparing for a fu...
Veteran Help Exists - So Why Is It So Hard to Find?
Veterans are constantly told that help is available - but finding the right resource can be overwhelming, confusing, and full of dead ends.
In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton sits down with Army veteran Daniel O’Dell, founder and CEO of MFV Resources. After struggling to find support during his own transition out of the military, Daniel created a free national directory to help service members, veterans, and military families find verified resources by state and category.
Daniel explains how MFV Resources evaluates organizations and connects people with support for transportation, ho...
3 Ideas That Could Change Veteran Healthcare
The 3 Changes That Could Save Veterans' Lives
What if three simple changes could help improve healthcare for millions of military members and veterans?
In this solo episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Casey Kroner, Marine Corps veteran, testicular cancer survivor, and co-founder of Veteran Cancer Network, shares the three ideas driving the organization's mission.
In this episode, Casey discusses:
Why Veteran Cancer Network believes cancer should be looked for earlier in military members and veterans.Why every healthcare provider should ask one simple...When Your Doctor Doesn't Listen. A Marine Veteran's Fight for Answers.
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What happens when you know something is wrong with your body—but no one listens?
In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton sits down with Lacey Pritchard, a United States Marine Corps veteran living with Stage IV colon cancer. After years of abdominal pain, back pain, night sweats, and other warning signs, her symptoms were repeatedly explained away. It wasn't until a doctor finally ordered a CT scan that she received the diagnosis that changed her life.
Lacey shares her journey through chemotherapy, multiple su...
SURVIVED IRAQ. GOT CANCER YEARS LATER
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Army veteran Thomas Firak thought he was healthy. Then a routine blood test revealed something that couldn't be ignored.
In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Thomas shares his journey from serving in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom to being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer linked to burn pit exposure and other toxic exposures veterans may face during service.
Thomas opens up about the early warning signs, being anemic for years before diagnosis, undergoing a stem cell transplant, CAR-T therapy, and the physical and emotional challenges...
Cancer-Free But Still Struggling?
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Cancer treatment may end, but for many survivors, the challenges continue long after they hear the words "cancer free."
In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton and Casey sit down with men's pelvic health physical therapist Matt Johnston to discuss an often-overlooked part of cancer survivorship. From urinary leakage and pelvic floor dysfunction to sexual health concerns and loss of confidence, many men struggle with side effects they never expected and rarely talk about.
Matt explains why these issues are more common than most people realize, how physical...
The VA Said Ulcer. It Was Cancer. - Matt Roll's Multiple Myeloma Story
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Army veteran Matt Roll spent more than a year searching for answers after persistent pain was repeatedly dismissed as an ulcer. Trusting his instincts ultimately led to a diagnosis of multiple myeloma at just 41 years old.
In this episode, Matt joins Veteran Cancer Talk to discuss his military service, concerns about toxic exposures, the road to diagnosis, undergoing a stem cell transplant, and what life looks like today while living with cancer in remission.
Matt also shares the critical role his wife and family played throughout treatment, the importance...
Grew Up on Military Bases. Then She Got Cancer
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In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton speaks with Heather King — military brat, breast cancer survivor, doctoral candidate, and founder of Rooted Resilience — about the overlooked issue of toxic exposure and long-term health risks facing military families.
Heather shares her experience growing up in military housing and later being diagnosed with breast cancer at 33 despite living a healthy lifestyle and staying proactive with screenings.
Together, they discuss:
Military family toxic exposure Cancer and environmental exposure concerns Healthcare gaps affecting military families Early detection and advocacy Holistic wellness during treatm...Stage 4 Cancer While Still Serving...
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What happens when you’re still serving your country… and get diagnosed with stage 4 cancer?
In this episode, we sit down with Ron and Kate Belany — a Navy family navigating life after a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis.
From early symptoms that were easy to dismiss… to a misdiagnosis… to starting treatment just weeks later — this conversation dives into what that journey really looks like.
We also talk about:
The moment everything changed What treatment is actually like day-to-day The role of the caregiver (and why it’s just as hard) Mi...Two Veterans Talk Testicular Cancer (Unfiltered)
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This wasn’t planned.
We just kept the mic rolling.
After wrapping our conversation with Kevin Sloan, Casey jumped in and what followed turned into one of the most real conversations we’ve had yet.
No script. No structure. Just two veterans who’ve both faced testicular cancer talking about what life actually looks like after.
In this Side Mission episode, we get into:
Life after losing one—or both—testicles Low testosterone (Low T) and hormone replacement therapy What recovery really feels like (the stuff...2x Testicular Cancer From Serving the USA
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Most men don’t talk about it.
That’s exactly why this conversation matters.
In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, we sit down with Kevin Sloan, a Kevin Sloan a Marine Corps veteran and two-time testicular cancer survivor who shares what it’s really like to face cancer not once… but twice.
From deploying to Kuwait and Iraq to navigating life after service, Kevin opens up about the moment everything changed when he found something that didn’t feel right and...
Diagnosed at 45 with Prostate Cancer With No Symptoms
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In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, we sit down with Dave Diaz, a Navy, Army, and Army National Guard veteran who was diagnosed with prostate cancer at just 45 years old—with no symptoms.
Dave shares how a routine blood test changed everything, leading to surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and years of hormone therapy. But beyond the physical battle, this episode dives into something often overlooked—the mental and emotional toll cancer takes, especially for veterans.
We talk about identity, isolation, and the moment Dave realized he couldn’t do it alo...
Advocate for Yourself | Army Veteran Liz Blackmon
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In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton speaks with Liz Blackmon — Army veteran, breast cancer survivor, retired Department of Justice law enforcement officer, veteran advocate, and realtor.
Liz shares her journey from military service to a breast cancer diagnosis that was caught early because she advocated for her own health and pushed for a mammogram. Diagnosed at stage 1, grade 2, Liz chose to undergo a bilateral mastectomy and later spent years on hormone therapy as part of her treatment.
Th...
Veteran, Survivor, Advocate — Shawn Morgan’s Leukemia Journey
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In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton sits down with Army veteran and leukemia survivor Shawn Morgan.
After multiple deployments to Iraq and years of potential toxic exposure, Shawn began experiencing unusual fatigue, shortness of breath, and other warning signs. In June 2024, he was diagnosed with leukemia and quickly began an intense treatment journey that included chemotherapy, long hospital stays, and a stem cell transplant from his brother.
Shawn shares what the experience was like for him and his family, the challenges of treatment...
Dr. Elizabeth O’Donnell - Multicancer Early Detection: A Blood Test Revolution for Veterans?
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In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton speaks with Dr. Elizabeth O’Donnell, Director of the Multicancer Early Detection Clinic at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, about one of the most promising developments in oncology: multicancer early detection (MSED) testing.
MSED tests use a single blood draw to analyze DNA methylation signatures that may indicate the presence of cancer. Some commercially available tests can screen for up to 50 different types of cancer — including many that currently have no recommended screening options.
Dr. O’Donnell explains:
• How MSED testing w...
Cancer Through a Caregiver’s Eyes
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When a veteran is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family is changed — but few people see what happens to the caregiver.
In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Jennifer Worthy shares her experience supporting her husband, a Gulf War Marine, through a stage 3 cancer diagnosis, remission, and now a stage 4 recurrence. From chemotherapy routines to navigating the VA healthcare system, Jennifer opens up about caregiver burnout, emotional boundaries, marriage under pressure, and the quiet exhaustion that comes with holding everything together.
This conversation explores the unseen side of cancer — the...
Mental Health Matters During Cancer Treatment
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Joseph Zolper, Army veteran and Manager of Outreach & Networking at the Road Home Program at Rush University Medical Center, joins Ashton on Veteran Cancer Talk to discuss veterans’ mental health, toxic exposure awareness, and why support matters even more when veterans and families are navigating serious medical issues like cancer.
Joseph shares his Afghanistan deployment experience, the reality of mental health symptoms surfacing after service, and why many veterans put their health last during the transition to civilian life. He also explains how th...
Testicular Cancer, Toxic Exposure, and Life After Survival
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In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, host Ashton speaks with Gary Schell, a U.S. Marine Corps infantry veteran and testicular cancer survivor, about his journey from military service to cancer diagnosis—and life after treatment.
Gary shares his experiences serving with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, including deployments to the Pacific and the Middle East, and discusses potential toxic exposures during military service that may impact long-term health. He opens up about noticing early warning signs during the COVID era, receiving a testicular cancer diagnosis, and un...
Healing After Breast Cancer Through Photography
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Charise Isis, founder and director of The Grace Project, joins Veteran Cancer Talk to share how photography has become a powerful tool for healing, visibility, and empowerment for breast cancer survivors — including veterans.
Through visual storytelling, The Grace Project is putting real faces to breast cancer and changing the way survivorship is seen, felt, and understood. The project has photographed more than 1,200 survivors, creating space for individuals to reclaim their identity, dignity, and sense of self after diagnosis.
In this conversation, Charise discusses how The Grace Project began, why hu...
Navy Veteran Breast Cancer Survivor Brenda M. Lee on Military Exposure, Early Detection, and Healing
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Navy veteran, breast cancer survivor, photographer, and author Brenda M. Lee joins Veteran Cancer Talk to share her powerful story of military service, toxic exposure, breast cancer diagnosis at age 30, and long-term survivorship.
Brenda served aboard Navy ships where she was regularly exposed to jet fuel, asbestos, and hazardous environments — conditions many veterans now believe contribute to higher cancer risk. She opens up about receiving her cancer diagnosis through a phone call while sitting in a Target parking lot, navigating nearly a year of chemotherapy and radiation, and the ps...
The Formation of the Veteran Cancer Network
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Veterans are being diagnosed with cancer younger and too often, too late.
In Episode 1, we introduce the Veteran Cancer Network and the reason it exists. Marine Corps veterans Casey and Ashton share their personal experiences navigating cancer as a veteran and caregiver, and the systemic gaps they encountered along the way.
This episode explores how age-based screening guidelines, communication breakdowns in healthcare, and limited access to early detection put veterans at higher risk. We discuss why early, risk-based cancer screening matters, the critical...
A Veteran’s Testicular Cancer Diagnosis and the Power of Self-Advocacy
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In Episode 2, Casey — Marine Corps veteran and co-founder of Veteran Cancer Network — shares his personal journey with testicular cancer, from the first warning signs to chemotherapy and recovery.
Casey reflects on his military service, exposure to toxic environments, and the challenges veterans face when navigating VA healthcare and cancer diagnosis. He recounts how a seemingly unrelated bicycle accident led to the discovery of his tumor, the moment he received his diagnosis, and what it was like undergoing chemotherapy as a young veteran.
Th...
Risk Over Age - Rethinking Cancer Screening for Veterans
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In Episode 3, Casey — Marine Corps veteran and cancer survivor — breaks down one of the biggest gaps in veteran healthcare: age-based cancer screening.
Most cancer screening guidelines are built for the “average” patient. But veterans are not average. Military service comes with unique environmental and occupational exposures that increase cancer risk — risks that often aren’t considered when care is based on age alone.
In this episode, Casey explains why age-based screening fails veterans, how systemic healthcare defaults create dangerous delays in diagnosis, and what veteran...
