My name is Jason Cronen, and I am living with cancer for the second time.

Both times I was diagnosed, I felt fine. There was nothing that made me think something was seriously wrong.

Facing cancer twice forces you to think about how much time you have left, so I decided to do something meaningful with it.

My goal is to hike across the historic 540-kilometer Lycian Way in southern Türkiye as part of The Lycian Way Challenge, a 4- to 5-week trek I created to support men's health and rural cancer screening.

Where Your Donations Go

Proceeds from my hike and donations made through this GoFundMe will help fund 5 to 6 rural cancer screening pilots planned for 2027, while also helping us raise awareness about the everyday barriers that keep too many men from getting care.

This GoFundMe is the next step in a huge personal undertaking that began more than nine months ago. Before I even started planning my route on the Lycian Way, I began sharing what I hoped the Challenge could become, and those early efforts drove $1,200+ in direct support for Movember.

My History with Cancer

I was first diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer in 2004 while attending the College of Charleston.

What followed was 18 months of aggressive chemotherapy and three surgeries. Thanks to the teams at Roper Hospital, MUSC, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, I made it through.

Over the next 20 years, I built a life I never took for granted. I started and helped grow businesses, worked in tech and tourism, moved to Asia, and built a life with my girlfriend and our cat. Then, in April 2024, I collapsed on a Bangkok sidewalk and woke in a hospital bed to learn my cancer had returned.

Facing cancer a second time strips away the B.S. and makes you focus on what matters.

The Long-Term Goal

I want The Lycian Way Challenge to become more than a single hike. We are currently forming a foundation that will fund rural cancer screening pilots and help more men overcome the everyday barriers that keep them from reaching care.

Thank you for believing in this mission and for standing with me on this journey.

Most gratefully yours,

Jason M. Cronen

P.S. These two photos were taken just before my diagnosis in Charleston back in April 2004, and later at Phish in Coventry in August 2004, right in the middle of chemotherapy. Even then, I was determined to keep living fully. That spirit has never left me.