My name is Ashton Kroner. My husband Casey and I both served in Iraq. We trained for combat. We prepared for the worst. We understood the risks of war. What we weren’t prepared for was coming home and having our symptoms dismissed by the very system meant to care for us.

When Casey began experiencing persistent back pain and sought care, he was told he was too young for anything serious – despite the fact that, as a veteran, he had so many other risk factors for cancer.

But despite Casey’s young age, we knew something wasn’t right. He was forced to keep pushing for a diagnosis. By the time he finally received the correct diagnosis, it was Stage 3A testicular cancer.

We survived Iraq. But back home, we nearly lost everything because cancer screening guidelines rely more on age than on exposure, symptoms, and service history.

Sign our petition to demand better cancer detection for veterans.

Veterans face elevated cancer risks due to burn pits, radiation, jet fuel, industrial solvents, and other toxic exposures encountered during service. Research has shown increased cancer risk and earlier onset in certain veteran populations. Yet screening protocols remain largely age-based, ignoring the realities of military service and the cumulative impact of exposure.

We must urgently modernize cancer screening guidelines so they reflect the realities veterans face. Providers must have the discretion to order appropriate imaging and diagnostic testing when warning signs are present. 

Veterans should not have to self-diagnose cancer to be taken seriously. We should not have to wait until the disease is advanced to qualify for care. And we should not have to fight our own healthcare system after fighting for our country.

It is time to move from age-based screening to exposure-based screening for veterans.

Sign this petition to demand earlier, smarter, exposure-informed cancer detection for those who have served.