Episode Details

What happens when a decorated Marine officer — who has faced deployments, cross-country moves, and the fight for the right to marry the woman she loves — discovers she's been quietly battling a stage four cancer diagnosis for years?

Ashley Christman's story is one of relentless resilience. She and her wife Melissa first met as active duty Marine Corps officers in 2012, marrying in August 2013 — just one month after DOMA was repealed. From the beginning, their life together was defined by change: coast-to-coast moves, overseas tours, and the unique sacrifices that come with serving your country side by side with your partner.

But for years beneath the surface, something was wrong. Ashley's symptoms were scattered, confusing, and easy to dismiss — yet she knew. She kept showing up to doctors, kept advocating for herself, kept trusting her instincts. In 2021, she finally received the answer she had been pushing for: a Neuroendocrine cancer diagnosis. Stage four.

And the hits kept coming. In the same year, Ashley and Melissa navigated a new baby, a cross-country move, and a global pandemic — all while processing one of the most devastating diagnoses a person can receive.

Rather than retreat, Ashley advanced. She retired from active duty and channeled her story into not one, but two powerful short films: The Commitment to Courage, her deeply personal account of the road to diagnosis (available on YouTube), and Forward, a testament to her extraordinary strength in charting a new life after a stage four diagnosis - currently being showcased at film festivals around the world.

In this episode, Ashley opens up meeting the love of her life, creating the family she dreamed of as well as the years of dismissed symptoms, the moment everything changed, and what it truly means to push forward when the mission is your own survival.

Links mentioned:

• The Commitment to Courage — https://youtu.be/kgdIc7ekZ3Y?si=WJQRH1GiojQGduly
• Forward — check it out on IG: www.instagram.com/forwardthefilm

• • Learn more about Ashley and her journey by following her on IG: www.instagram.com/abc_traveler 

Film Links:

Film: “The Commitment to Courage: The Ashley Christman Story”

https://youtu.be/kgdIc7ekZ3Y?si=BMNj5FDRO2OINcts

Film:  Forward

Instagram | @forwardthefilm

LinkTree | https://linktr.ee/AshleyBChristman 

Neuroendocrine Cancer Resources:

NCF - Neuroendocrine Cancer Foundation | Resources for Patients & Caregivers

NCAN - The Neuroendocrine Cancer Awareness Network (NCAN)

NETRF - Better Treatments For Neuroendocrine Tumors NETRF

NANETS – https://nanets.net

ENETS - European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society - enets.org

Servicemember Resources:

JMMF - Home - Jimmy Miller Foundation - Ocean Therapy, CONUS West Coast and Hawaii

HunterSeven Foundation - Resources and Information for Servicemembers and Veterans with Cancer

Warrior Foundation Freedom Station - Warrior Foundati