To whom it may concern,

My name is Byron. Originally born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, I currently live with my sister and nephew in Newark, NJ. I was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer in mid-March. Before then, my sister and I were helping take care of our mother. She, unfortunately, passed away in January.

As someone used to being busy with work, family, and life in general, I didn’t know that I had this serious condition. The diagnosis came only after I went to the local urgent care for what I thought was a food bug. I was vomiting, inexplicably losing weight, and feeling so weak to the point where I couldn’t even walk without holding onto something. My appetite became so drastically reduced, it was non-existent. The urgent care visit then led to me going to the hospital around the corner. Both places conducted tests on me, and both concluded that I had cancer.

Since April, I’ve been in and out of the hospital for chemotherapy. Meanwhile, I had two procedures in March in order to do the chemo: a stent to suppress a tumor on my right side and a port-catheter insertion. The stent was placed in order to keep the tumor from overtaking my kidney, and the port-catheter acts as a gateway to my veins and body for blood work and chemo treatments.

Nonetheless, things have improved for me. I’ve been handling the chemo treatments well. Currently, as of June 18, 2021, I have just finished my third round and am feeling a lot better. I have regained my appetite and some weight and strength. I also just got approved to receive Social Security Disability Income. Update as of July 26, 2021: I've completed my fourth and final (hopefully) round of chemo. I am still waiting for insurance approval on a full-body scan to insure that there's no malignancy. Despite my progress, my sister and I are still struggling.

While I’ve financially contributed to helping my nephew and sister out with things like food, bills have piled up despite being able to pay here and there. Hospital and procedural bills, rent, and personal expenses have taken a toll on both my sister and I. My last hospital bill was over 2,000$. This would wipe out my account for I’m only receiving disability payments through my job and no other income. My sister has been working overtime on at least one of her days off for the last couple of months. And, that’s just to cover rent and bills. Even while paying off some of the balance, rent has climbed to a few thousand dollars.

While I don’t ask for much, clearly I need help. I ask that you donate from the heart, whatever you can. I ask, also, that you share my experience with others. You can CashApp me directly at $BDouin if you choose not to donate to my GoFundMe. I also have Zelle; and just search my name, (Byron Smith), if you want to donate there. Thank you.