Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Kremer.
Jason, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Well, I’ll give you the quick breakdown of my life in a nutshell. Much of what I’m opening up about is not something I open up about often. I am working (slowly) on an e-book to get my information out there so this is great practice. 🙂
I grew up in Spring Lake, Michigan, and from an early age I learned that life doesn’t always unfold the way you expect. When I was around five years old, my mother was diagnosed with severe mental illness, and the experience of a mentally ill mother had a profound impact on me and my sister. It ultimately taught me resilience, independence, and compassion, but it also sparked a lifelong curiosity about health and healing where the standard pharmaceutical route alone failed my mother. I eventually wanted to understand not only how to treat illness and injuries, but how to help people build stronger, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.
Sports, art, and prayer (thanks to my grandmother) became my refuge. Wrestling, in particular, gave me discipline, confidence, and an appreciation for what the human body and mind are capable of overcoming. Wrestling became the primary outlet for me to focus my energy and ultimately calm my mind and ease much of my emotional pain. Thanks to my father for taking the time to hit every tournament and travel the country, I excelled in wrestling. Quiet in school, I was a different kid on the mat and achieved several state titles and All-American status in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling. That passion eventually led me to pursue a degree in Exercise Science and Nutrition and eventually Chiropractic and Sports Medicine, where I found the perfect blend of science, movement, and natural approaches to health. Over time, I expanded my education into Functional Medicine because I wanted to better understand the root causes of pain and chronic disease and help patients move beyond simply managing symptoms.
After grad school, I moved to Central Oregon, where I met my wife, Cassie, and I built our practice with a simple mission: to help people live healthier, more active lives through education, prevention, and personalized care. I truly believed I was practicing what I preached—exercising regularly, eating well, and living a healthy lifestyle. I was even chosen to be the “From the Doc” columnist for the international Paleo Magazine where I was able to share my knowledge with the world.
Then, at just 38 years old, everything changed. I was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a fairly rare form of cancer. I met with multiple oncologists and was told the prognosis was poor, with no expectation of a cure. It was one of the most difficult moments of my life and forced me to ask hard questions about the path I wanted to take.
The standard of care plan of action was aggressive chemotherapy and to follow that up with a bone marrow transplant…which I was told would still not cure me. After carefully weighing my options and seeking multiple medical opinions, I chose a treatment plan that included limited immunotherapy along with an intensive focus on nutrition, lifestyle, stress management, and the principles of Functional Medicine that I had spent years studying. My journey was far from easy. There were setbacks, complications, and moments of real uncertainty, but it also became one of the greatest teachers of my life.
Today, more than a decade later, I’m grateful to be healthy, raising two amazing children with my wife, and continuing to care for patients in our community. Looking back, I don’t see my cancer diagnosis as the defining chapter of my life. I see it as the chapter that clarified my purpose. It reinforced my belief that health isn’t something we should take for granted, and that prevention, resilience, informed decision-making, and hope matter more than ever.
If there’s one message I hope people take from my story, it’s that our greatest challenges can become our greatest teachers. We don’t always get to choose what happens to us, but we do get to choose how we respond. That choice has shaped the person, husband, father, and Doctor I am today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This was not an easy road. In many ways, my cancer diagnosis was simply the next chapter in a life that had already taught me how to navigate adversity. Growing up with a mother who struggled with mental illness exposed me to challenges at a very young age, and wrestling became the place where I learned discipline, perseverance, and mental toughness. I’ve often joked that there probably aren’t many things in life more mentally, emotionally, and physically demanding than a two-hour wrestling practice with an equally tough training partner.
Wrestling taught me that when you think you’ve reached your limit, you usually have more to give. Looking back, I realize those lessons prepared me for one of the greatest challenges of my life. One of the first obstacles after my diagnosis was financial. Ironically, I owned a practice called *Wellness Doctor* and truly practiced what I preached. I exercised regularly, ate well, prioritized my health, and believed I was doing everything possible to prevent chronic disease. Like many healthy people, I never imagined cancer would happen to me. I carried catastrophic health insurance in case of a major accident, but I wasn’t prepared for months of specialist appointments, biopsies, scans, surgery, and ongoing medical care.
Within about three months, I found myself facing nearly $80,000 in medical debt. To make matters even more overwhelming, my student loan provider informed me that because I was still physically able to work, I didn’t qualify for loan forgiveness or even a pause in accruing interest. It felt like the walls were closing in from every direction. As I met with oncologists and blood cancer specialists, I kept hoping someone would offer another option. Instead, every consultation led to essentially the same recommendation: aggressive chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant, despite being told that this approach was not expected to cure my cancer. Those conversations were emotionally exhausting because they forced me to wrestle with difficult questions about quality of life, risk, and the future my wife and I had dreamed about.
During that same season, Cassie and I made one of the biggest decisions of our lives—we chose to start a family. We had been told there was a real possibility that cancer or its treatment could take away that opportunity. Given the prognosis, we also knew there was no guarantee I would be there to watch our children grow up. Rather than allowing fear to dictate our future, we chose hope. Our daughter was born during those early years of my journey, and our son followed two years later. They became daily reminders of why I was fighting and why every decision I made mattered.
The treatment I did receive brought its own set of challenges. Thanks to the incredible support of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, much of the cost of my immunotherapy was covered, for which I remain deeply grateful. However, the treatment left my immune system profoundly weakened. My white blood cell count and neutrophils dropped to critically low levels, and my oncologist urgently warned me to stay away from people because even a minor infection could become dangerous. The problem was, I didn’t have that luxury. I owned a practice, patients depended on me, and I had a family to support. I continued working while battling repeated infections, and eventually pneumonia forced me to step away from work long enough to recover. On top of that, I experienced periods of sudden, intense pain in areas where the lymphoma had been most active, constant reminders that my body was fighting a battle I couldn’t always see.
Looking back now, much of that time feels like a blur, but my wife remembers every difficult moment. We had no family nearby. It was just the two of us trying to navigate uncertainty together. I’ve never been someone who enjoys asking for help, so one of the most humbling parts of the journey was experiencing the generosity of others. Friends organized a fundraiser at my gym, and one patient’s family made an incredibly generous donation that helped relieve some of the financial burden. Those acts of kindness reminded me that strength isn’t always about carrying every burden yourself. Sometimes it’s about allowing people who care about you to walk alongside you.
Throughout all of it, I tried to protect something I believed was just as important as my physical health: my mindset. I’ve always encouraged my patients to approach healing with persistence and a positive attitude, regardless of what they’re facing. Cancer didn’t change that belief—it tested it. I don’t think a positive mindset alone cures disease, but I do believe it shapes how we respond to adversity. Every morning, instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” I tried to ask, “What can I do today that moves me one step closer to healing?” That simple shift helped me focus on what I could control instead of becoming consumed by what I couldn’t.
Eventually, I realized that while I couldn’t control every aspect of my diagnosis, I could influence the environment in which my body was trying to heal. I committed myself to reducing inflammation, supporting my immune system, improving sleep, managing stress, minimizing unnecessary toxic exposures, optimizing nutrition, and applying the principles of Functional Medicine that I had spent years studying. I wasn’t looking for a miracle—I was committed to giving my body every possible opportunity to heal.
Looking back today, I’m grateful not only for the outcome but also for the lessons. The experience deepened my faith, strengthened my marriage, taught me humility, and transformed the way I care for patients. More than anything, it reinforced the belief that resilience is built long before we need it. My mother’s struggles, years on the wrestling mat, building a practice from the ground up, and ultimately facing cancer all became part of the same story. Each challenge prepared me for the next, and each one strengthened my commitment to helping others build healthier, more resilient lives before they’re ever faced with a crisis of their own.
As you know, we’re big fans of Wellness Doctor, Natural Healthcare & Chiropractic Sports Medicine. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
When I opened Wellness Doctor over 20 years ago, I intentionally chose that name because I wanted it to represent something much bigger than just Chiropractic care. My vision was never to build a clinic that simply treated pain or masked symptoms. I wanted to create a place where people could take a proactive approach to their health and discover what it truly means to thrive.
Today, Wellness Doctor is a collaborative practice that combines Chiropractic care, sports medicine, Functional Medicine, massage therapy, rehabilitation, nutrition, Class IV laser therapy, shockwave therapy, infrared sauna therapy, and other evidence-informed services under one roof. We believe that lasting health comes from understanding the whole person, not just treating one symptom at a time.
One of the greatest gifts my own cancer journey gave me was a deeper sense of compassion. It reinforced that every patient who walks through our doors has a story, and often they’re carrying much more than what brought them in physically. Whether someone is recovering from an injury, struggling with chronic pain, or trying to improve their long-term health, our goal is to listen, educate, and help them feel empowered to take control of their well-being.
While helping people overcome pain remains a big part of what we do, I’m especially passionate about prevention, longevity, and helping people stay strong, active, and healthy for decades to come. My hope is that our patients don’t just recover from illness or injury, but build the habits and resilience that allow them to enjoy a healthier, more fulfilling life.
More than anything, I want people to see Wellness Doctor as a place where they’re genuinely cared for, educated, and inspired. Pain may bring people through our doors, but our mission is to help them leave healthier than they ever imagined possible.
What’s next?
I’m excited about what the future holds, both professionally and personally. After more than 20 years in practice, I’m grateful to have two outstanding associate chiropractors on our team. They’ve allowed me to finally catch my breath a little, spend more quality time with my wife and children, and focus on growing the practice in meaningful ways rather than simply trying to keep up with the daily demands of patient care.
Owning a healthcare practice certainly comes with its own unique challenges, but I’ve learned that leading by example is one of the most important things I can do—for my patients, my family, and myself. I make it a priority to maintain balance, stay physically active, and continue practicing the healthy habits I encourage in others.
As our practice continues to evolve, so does our focus. My wife, Cassie, continues to help patients through Functional Nutrition with an emphasis on gut health and digestive wellness. My passion has increasingly shifted toward helping adults—especially those over 40—age with strength, vitality, and purpose. I want to help people not only reduce pain and recover from injury, but also preserve muscle, optimize metabolic and cardiovascular health, maintain mobility, and stay active enough to enjoy everything retirement and later life have to offer.
Looking ahead, I hope to continue growing Wellness Doctor, expand my educational outreach through writing and speaking, and ultimately inspire more people to become proactive about their health. My goal has never been simply to help people live longer—it’s to help them live better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.BendWellnessDoctor.com
- Instagram: @thewellnessdoctor
- Facebook: @bendwellnessdoctor
