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

Facing a cancer diagnosis twice forces you to look at exactly how much time you have left, and I am determined to do something big with the time I have.

In a few weeks, I will set out to hike 540 kilometers across the Lycian Way in southern Türkiye on The Lycian Way Challenge , a 4–5 week thru-hike I created in support of Movember, men’s health, and low-cost rural cancer screening.

My History with Cancer

I was first diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer in 2004 as a student at the College of Charleston.

It became an 18-month battle including aggressive chemotherapy and 3 surgeries. Thanks to the outstanding doctors and nurses at Roper Hospital, MUSC, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, I survived.

For the next twenty years, I put everything I had into living fully, helping others with cancer, and building businesses and communities to tackle big problems. That drive is what ultimately took me to Asia, where I’ve spent over five years building an investment and advisory business from the ground up.

Living here has given me perspective on a larger, rapidly-changing world. I fell in love, experienced new cultures, met people very different from me, and built a life with my girlfriend and our cat that I value deeply.

Then, in April 2024, the momentum stopped. I fainted on a Bangkok sidewalk, and when I came to in a hospital bed hours later, the news was waiting for me: the cancer had returned.

This kind of experience changes you; it strips away the everyday bullshit and makes what matters impossible to ignore. It also reveals the cracks in the healthcare systems we rely on to stay alive.

The Geography of Survival

Geography should not determine survival.

As an American with a "pre-existing" condition, the U.S. healthcare system became a wall of delays and constant rejections. Those delays cost me valuable time. I was forced to seek care abroad rather than at home, surrounded by family and friends, in a hospital system I know.

While I am not out of the woods yet, I have a path forward that could give me a few more years of life.

But my experience showed me something more pressing: for millions of men, the problem is not just a breakdown in an existing system. It is geography itself.

Men in rural communities are often forced to travel long distances just to reach a hospital or regional medical center. The cost of travel, taking time off work, or paying for a night in a hotel becomes the barrier. In rural areas, 43% of men have never received a cancer screening check. For the 1 in 9 men globally who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, that total lack of access turns a treatable condition into a tragedy.

Why This Hike Matters and How You Can Help

Both times I was diagnosed, I felt fine. There were no warning signs.

If I had not had access to immediate screening, I would not be here today to lace up my boots. Cancer screening is the only reason I am alive.

So, I’m hitting the trail to make sure early detection is available to more than just the lucky few.

To date, The Lycian Way Challenge has raised more than $11,000 from over 130 donors around the globe, with support from 20 Trail Partners. We launched this GoFundMe in May specifically to widen our visibility and expand our fundraising reach as we push hard towards our larger $25,000+ target.

Where the Funding Goes

Funds raised from The Lycian Way Challenge will support 5 to 6 low-cost rural cancer screenin

We are not funding abstract research. These pilot programs directly address the rural "last-mile breakdown" by removing the logistical barriers that keep men from getting screened. Local medical practitioners handle intake and referrals, and the funds cover the practical costs that block access: testing, transportation, and lodging. Your donation helps provide direct screening access for 180 to 200 at-risk men who would otherwise be left out of the system entirely.

The Reality of the Fight

I have lived through the exhaustion and uncertainty of cancer treatment. I am taking on this 540-kilometer hike because I know what screening access can mean in practice, and because too many men never get that chance. Every dollar helps move one more person into care before distance, cost, or delay closes the door.

The Lycian Way Challenge is about more than a hike; it’s about ensuring the next person facing this diagnosis gets the chance to find it early enough to survive. Thank you for standing with me.

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 chemo. Even then, I was determined to keep living fully in the face of really tough times. That spirit has never left me.