Hi everyone!  I'm Brad, and I've opened this GoFundMe to help my dear friend Elliot Rose. 

Recently, Elliot was diagnosed with cancer, and is looking for assistance in covering his medical bills, as well as his regular living expenses while he's recovering from surgery.  If you feel so compelled and are in a secure enough situation financially, anything you can contribute would be immensely appreciated.

Without further ado, I leave it to Elliot himself to tell his story in his own words:

Hey family,

So I started off the year on a pretty high note.  I moved into a beautiful apartment in Jersey City, work had been going well, and I reached a year and a half sober!!! My relationship with Zarah is getting better and better by the day (we got engaged in November!!) I really couldn’t complain! 

That is, until, my lower back pain started getting worse.   This was odd because it had slowed down in January, and in addition to that I noticed this horrible aching pain in my one and only testicle!  I thought, now this isn’t a big deal, I must have slept in a strange position or bumped it… something.  So I kept moving on and fighting through the pain, but it kept getting worse.  My testicle got larger and more firm.  Usually that's a good thing down there, but not in this case.  The pain had become unbearable.  Finally, it got to a point where the pain was too much to bear and I told Zarah about it.  She made me go to an urgent care the next day.

I went in complaining of testicular pain, back pain, incontinence, fatigue, and a large, hard testicle.  From the start, their concern was cancer.  After 2 ultrasounds and 4 doctor visits as of March 10th, the determination was made that I have to get the testicle removed.

The issue is I don’t have insurance and I work an hourly job.   (I work as a sober bartender at The McKittrick Hotel here in Manhattan.)   So, I’m here to ask you for your financial support to help me get the ball rolling on getting my ball removed!  (Oh yes, there will be puns!)

With your donation, you’ll be helping me with my medical bills, medication (post-surgery, I will have to be on Testosterone for the rest of my life,) rent, bills, food, and all the things involved in being a sober adult bartender that has cancer. (too much?)

I love each and every single one of you.  If you’re not financially stable enough to donate money, share this link!!!  Also, feel free to shoot me a text or a phone call; I’d love to hear from you!  And if you are, donate whatever you want, every little bit helps!!  If my goal is reached, and all my medical bills and such are paid off, all money leftover will be donated to testicular cancer research and addiction rehab programs. Either way, your money is going to a good place.

I love you all

Elliot.