Early in the summer of 2023, the chef started to feel ill. He initially believed that the stomach pains were diverticulitis, or intestinal inflammation.
After switching to a diet high in fiber and clear liquids, he rushed to the emergency room since the pain didn’t go away and instead got worse.
He was referred to an oncologist by the local doctors, who performed scans and concluded that he had advanced cancer.
In a video released in October 2023, Ashton called the diagnosis the “worst news” of his life, but he insisted he wouldn’t allow it to emotionally destroy him.
He underwent 20 cycles of immunotherapy to reduce his tumors, each time stopping at Chick-fil-A prior.
